For example, as early as the 3rd century AD, there was a legend about an old man named Nicholas who lived in northern Finland. He liked to roam around on a deer-drawn sleigh and generously extended a helping hand to help others overcome difficulties. . Once, on Christmas Eve, I heard that the daughter of a poor family was getting married, so in the dead of night, I quietly dropped a bag of gold coins from the girl's window as a gift. The old man not only often gives gold coins to the poor, but is also willing to give gifts such as candies and toys to children on Christmas Eve. However, he did not give his gifts publicly. He would throw the gifts down the chimney in the dead of night, so that the children would always get an unexpected surprise on Christmas morning. As time passed, people discovered that these gifts were given by a kind-faced old man with a silver beard, wearing a red robe trimmed with white velvet, a red hat with a white brim, holding a cane, and riding a sleigh. So people called Nicholas the old man Santa Claus.
Half a month ago, when I was in Finland, I had already seen the iconic Christmas products displayed everywhere in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. As shown in the picture.
However, according to the records in my travel notes. Nearly 30 million people from all over the world visit the birthplace of Santa Claus in the small town of Terem, Turkey every year. According to records in novels related to the Bible: Santa Claus Nicholas was the bishop of the city of Mera in Asia Minor, Turkey, during his lifetime, and was canonized as a saint after his death. Regarding his life experience, some people have speculated that he is a descendant of the god Odin. The god Odin specializes in wisdom, art, poetry, and war. He is used to riding his octagonal horse in the cold winter to the ends of the earth, punishing evil and promoting good. , distribute gifts. His son, the God of Thunder, was accustomed to wearing red robes and using lightning as weapons to fight with the gods of ice and snow, and finally defeated the cold.
During my two visits to Italy, I heard people introduce many stories about Santa Claus in Italy. As early as the 11th century, Italian missionaries brought Nicholas's relics back to Italy from Northern Europe and built the Nicholas Church in the port city of Bari. Soon Christians from all over the world came to worship this saint.
Today, there has been endless debate about the legend of Santa Claus’s life experience: Which country is Santa Claus’s hometown? Due to the rapid spread of Christmas around the world, coupled with Santa Claus's growing fame and the market becoming more and more popular, countries that are slightly related to the legend of Santa Claus are vying to give this character who has long been just a symbol Additional nationality. Participating in the debate are the United States, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Finland. Among them, Danish Prime Minister Schluter vowed in 1992 that "it has become an indisputable fact that Santa Claus lives in Greenland."
In addition, there are also some Chinese who love to participate in Christmas vigils A series of circumstantial evidence was used to say that Santa Claus is of Chinese nationality, and his prototype is from the Xuanyuan country (Xuanyuan country is located in the Tianshan area). This is because, in terms of cultural factors, Santa Claus is old and long-lived, and rides a car. , and the third is gift giving, but these elements did not exist in early Western culture. In contrast, far in the east, the Xuanyuan Kingdom recorded in the pre-Qin classic "Shan Hai Jing" has a long life expectancy, and it is said that the shortest life span is more than 100. Sui: The name of the Xuanyuan Kingdom indicates that he travels far by car, and trades can bring fresh supplies and toys. From this, it can be seen that the prototype of Santa Claus is a person from the Xuanyuan Kingdom!
The controversy did not stop until 1995, when then-UN Secretary-General Gary sent a holiday card to Santa Claus to Rovaniemi, Finland. A coffin-closing effect - the United Nations recognized the hometown of Santa Claus as Rovaniemi, Finland. Since then, Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland in northern Finland, has become the most popular city in Northern Europe. The capital Helsinki Airport has also become the busiest airport in Northern Europe.