Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Christmas elves are said to make the gifts in Santa's workshop, while flying reindeer pull his sleigh through the air.

Saint Nicholas of Myra, also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara in Anatolia during the time of the Roman Empire. Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, toymakers, unmarried people, and students in various cities and countries around Europe. His reputation evolved among the pious, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the folklore of Santa Claus through Sinterklaas.

city in Alaska, USA

human settlement in Toombs County, Georgia, United States of America

town in Carter, Clay, and Harrison townships in Spencer County, Indiana, United States

receptacle for Christmas gifts

Folkloric personification of Christmas in several English‐speaking parts of the world

wife of Santa Claus

town in Hiroo district, Hokkaidō, Japan

annual program around Christmas

editorial appearing in the September 21, 1897, edition of The (New York) Sun

website designed by Google simulating the tracking of Santa Claus

thumb|right|Joulupukki and his wife. '''' () is a Finnish Christmas figure. The name literally means or in Finnish; the word comes from the Old Swedish word bukker'', a cognate of English "buck", meaning . An old Nordic folk tradition, the figure is now often conflated with Santa Claus.

American producer

Western Christmas tradition

Christmas-giftbringer in the French-speaking world

Finnish association football club

fictional workshop in the story of Santa Claus

American teacher (1889-1971)

costume worn by a person portraying Santa Claus

American children's magazine

monument in Szczecin, Poland

public artwork by Paul McCarthy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

thumb|SantaCon in San Francisco, 2014 SantaCon is an annual pub crawl in which people dressed in Santa Claus costumes or as other Christmas characters parade in hundreds of cities around the world. The event has sometimes been characterized by drunken behavior, sparking community resistance.

Hispanic version of Santa Claus popular in parts of the United States, sometimes referred to as a "Tex-Mex" version of Santa

human settlement in United States of America

christmas and holiday season parade