Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, or Santa, is a legendary and mythical figure, who brings gifts to children on Christmas Eve.

Santa Claus is the most popular Christmas icon in the world today.

Generally, Santa is depicted as a fat, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat, carrying a bagful of gifts and flying in a sleigh pulled by reindeers.

The history of Santa Claus begins with a man called Saint Nicholas, who is believed to have been born around 280 AD in Patara near Myra (now Turkey). He was the Christian Bishop of Myra and was believed to be a generous and kind-hearted man, devoted particularly to children.

There are several theories behind how his name transformed from Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus.

Some say that as “Santa” comes from the word “Saint” and “Claus” is an abbreviation for the name Nicholas in Germany, thus – “Santa Claus” came into existence.

Santa Claus is believed to fly in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeers.

The eight reindeers are named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Dixen, Comet, Cupid, Donor, Blitzen.

Rudolf was not part of the original reindeer but came later from the song - Rudolf the red nosed reindeer.