The Christmas Story: the Real History Behind the Holiday’s Development

10. St. Nicholas Transforms into the World’s Favorite Gift Giver

In the Christian tradition, St. Nicholas was supposedly born around 280 AD. A man of immense generosity of spirit, his whole life is marked with moments of crazy-talented giving. Like the time he saved three sisters from being sold into prostitution. Or the time he gave away all his worldly possessions, so he could walk the countryside and help the poor and sick, Jesus-style. Even when people started converting to Protestantism, St. Nicholas remained popular because of his innate awesomeness. In America, the Dutch made headlines for celebrating Sinter Klaas, a shortened version of Sint Nikolaas. Once again, Washington Irving did his part to popularize Christmas, by writing about Saint Nick as the patron saint of New York, in 1809.