Legend has it that Santa Claus appeared in Scandinavia thousands of years ago. In Norse mythology, Odin, the god of wisdom, art, poetry and war, rode his eight-legged horse to the ends of the earth in winter to punish evil and distribute gifts. Meanwhile, his son, Thor, dressed in red and armed with lightning, battled the gods of ice and snow to defeat the cold. According to pagan legend, Santa Claus is a descendant of the god Odin. It is also said that Santa Claus came from St. Nicholas, so Santa Claus is also known as St. Nicholas, who was originally the bishop of the city of Perla in Asia Minor, named St. Nicholas, and was honored as a saint after his death as a white-bearded old man wearing a red robe and a red hat. Every Christmas he drove a deer-drawn sleigh from the north, by the chimney into the homes, the Christmas gifts in socks hung on the children's bed or in front of the fireplace. So, when Westerners celebrate Christmas, parents put Christmas gifts for their children in socks and hang them above the children's beds on Christmas Eve. The next day, the first thing the children do when they wake up is to look for the gifts from Santa Claus on their beds. Nowadays, Santa Claus has become a symbol of good luck and is indispensable not only for Christmas, but also for New Year's celebrations. In short, Santa Claus has been immortalized in the human spirit because most of his stories promote the spirit of Christ. At the end of the 11th century religious soldiers from Italy brought the relics of the saint Nicholas back to Italy and built a church in his honor in the port city of Bari. Soon Christians from all over the world were making pilgrimages to the saint. These pilgrims brought the story of Saint Nicholas back to their homelands, and so the legend of Santa Claus is unique to each country. In the 12th century in Europe, the commemoration of the saintly Nicholas was celebrated with the exchange of gifts and charitable activities. Germany, France, and the Netherlands, on the other hand, used December 6 as a religious observance to give gifts to children and the poor. When the Dutch colonists came to America, they brought with them their Bishop Sintirklass, who wore a red surplice and rode a white horse.The American image of Sintirklass evolved into that of a jolly old elf. At first, the American writer Washington Irving, in his comedy At first the American writer Washington Irving depicted him in his comedy The History of New York as a round, fat old Dutchman. In 1823, the poet Clement Moore continued to dramatize the image of Sintirklass/Saint Nicholas in his poem "The Impression of St. Nicholas", which is the Santa Claus you see at the beginning of this post. In the 1860s cartoonist Thomas Nash drew a chubby, benevolent Santa Claus as an illustration for Harper's Week. This image of Santa Claus began to become ingrained in the minds of the American people. Over time, the image of Santa Claus traveled back to Europe, to South America, and around the world. Many countries have preserved their own customs and legends about Santa Claus. In the Dutch legend, Santa Claus Sintirklass also brought a helper named Black Peter, who arrived on December 6 on a ship. He carries a large book which describes how all the Dutch children have behaved during the past year. The children who had done well were given presents, and the children who had not done well were taken away by his helper. Santa Claus in Germany also carries a helper called Knecht Ruprecht, Krampus or Pelzebock, with a big sack with presents on his shoulder and a stick in his hand. Good children could receive his gifts, while naughty children were taught a few lessons with the stick. The Italian Santa Claus is called La Befana; the French Santa Claus is called Father Christmas or Pere Noel; the Swiss Santa Claus is called Christkindl or Christ Child; the Scandinavian Santa Claus is called julenisse or juletomte; and the British Santa Claus is called Father Christmas (Father of Christmas), as is the French. The British Santa Claus, like the French, is called Father Christmas (Father Christmas), and his image is more solemn and leaner than the other Santas. North America's Santa Claus is riding a reindeer-drawn sleigh to deliver gifts to children.