Here is some information on the origins of Santa Claus:

Santa Claus is a legendary old man who brings presents to children at Christmas. He wears a red fur-trimmed suit and is stout with a white beard. The idea of Santa is particularly popular in the United States.

The legend of Santa developed from stories about a real person named Saint Nicholas. Little is known about him. He may have been born in Patara, now known as Turkey. He was a priest who later became a bishop. He helped a poor nobleman who had three daughters. No one would marry them because they didn't have dowries. Saint Nicholas threw bags of money through the window of the nobleman's house and they were then able to marry. He died sometime during the A.D. 300s.

People in European countries thought of Saint Nicholas as a symbol of gift giving at Christmas. He was called Pere Noel in France and Father Christmas in England. The Dutch settlers who migrated to America continued their celebration of Saint Nicholas on December 6. English settlers adopted the legends and customs of Saint Nicholas. When they said the Dutch name for him, Sinterklaas, it sounded like Santy Claus or Santa Claus.

Saint Nicholas was seen as a thin, tall man who wore a bishop's robe and rode a horse. But in 1809 the American writer, Washington Irving published a book in which he described Saint Nicholas as a stout, jolly man who smoked a pipe, flew over the trees in a wagon and put presents in children's stockings. This began the tradition of Santa Claus as a jolly, fat man.

Vocabulary:
dowry - property or money brought by a bride to her husband when they get married

stout - rather fat