St Nicholas vs Santa Claus: What's the Difference?
St Nicholas vs Santa Claus: what is the difference? Put simply, St Nicholas was a real man, a bishop who lived in the 4th century in what is now Turkey. Santa Claus is the legend that grew out of him, with a red suit, a sleigh and a home at the North Pole.1
The name gives it away. Dutch settlers took their Sinterklaas, "Saint Nicholas", to New York, where he became Santa Claus.2 In Britain this American Santa then merged with our own much older Father Christmas.3
Here you will find the differences in one table, the story of the real St Nicholas, his surprising history in England and how 6 December is still celebrated across Europe.
St Nicholas and Santa Claus: the differences at a glance
| St Nicholas | Santa Claus / Father Christmas | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is he? | A real bishop of Myra in the 4th century, later a saint | A legendary figure shaped in the 19th century |
| His day | 6 December (St Nicholas Day) | Christmas Eve, 24 December |
| Looks | Bishop's robes, mitre and crozier | Red suit with white fur, hat and boots |
| Home | Myra in today's Turkey; his bones rest in Bari, Italy | The North Pole (or Lapland) |
| Helpers | In the Netherlands, Zwarte Piet; in Germany, Knecht Ruprecht | Elves and reindeer |
| Presents | Small treats in shoes or boots | Stockings and the main presents under the tree |
Compiled from the St Nicholas and Santa Claus entries on Wikipedia12 and the St Nicholas Center.45 The short version: one is a saint in a mitre, the other a jolly man in red, but they share a lot of DNA.
St Nicholas in numbers
Who was the real St Nicholas?
Nicholas was born, according to tradition, in about 270 in Patara, a port on the south coast of today's Turkey, and became Bishop of Myra. He is said to have died on 6 December 343.1 Very little about his life is certain, because the earliest accounts were written centuries later.1
He is the patron saint of a remarkable list: children, sailors, fishermen, merchants, toymakers and brewers, and of cities including Liverpool and Aberdeen.1
The legend of the three daughters
His most famous story: a poor man could not pay dowries for his three daughters. On three nights Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold coins through their window, so each daughter could marry.1
Nicholas had a reputation for secret gifts, such as coins left in the shoes of those who put them out for him.1 That is why children in much of Europe still put out shoes or boots on 6 December, and it is often seen as the origin of the stockings British children hang up on Christmas Eve.
Where is St Nicholas buried?
In 1087 merchants from Bari took most of his bones from Myra to Italy, where they lie in the Basilica di San Nicola.1 In 2017 researchers at the University of Oxford radiocarbon dated a fragment of hip bone revered as his. It came out as 4th century, the right period for the saint.7
St Nicholas in England: churches and Boy Bishops
Before the Reformation, Nicholas was one of the most popular saints in England, and more than 500 English churches are named after him. Nicholas was also one of the most common names for boys.6
On St Nicholas Day many cathedrals and churches elected a Boy Bishop, a choirboy who wore the bishop's robes for a few weeks. Henry VIII abolished the custom in 1542, Mary I brought it back in 1553 and Elizabeth I ended it again.8 Since the 20th century it has been revived in places such as Hereford, and in 2009 All Saints' Church in Wellingborough appointed Britain's first Girl Bishop.8
Canterbury has held a St Nicholas festival every year since 2000, with a parade through the city that ends in the cathedral, where more than 2,500 children and adults gather.6
How St Nicholas became Santa Claus
Dutch settlers brought Sinterklaas to New Amsterdam, later New York. In his History of New York (1809), Washington Irving anglicised the name to "Santa Claus", and he lost his bishop's robes along the way.2
The poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (1823) and the drawings of Thomas Nast then gave him the look we know: plump, jolly, with a sleigh and reindeer.2 Who pulls the sleigh, by the way, is in Santa's reindeer names.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| c. 270 | Nicholas is born in Patara, on the coast of today's Turkey |
| c. 343 | He dies on 6 December as Bishop of Myra |
| 1087 | Merchants from Bari take his bones to Italy |
| Middle Ages | More than 500 English churches are named after him |
| 1542 | Henry VIII abolishes the Boy Bishop custom of St Nicholas Day |
| 1809 | Washington Irving turns the Dutch Sinterklaas into "Santa Claus" in New York |
| 1823 | "A Visit from St. Nicholas" gives Santa his sleigh and reindeer |
| 1850s to 1880s | The American Santa arrives in Britain and merges with Father Christmas |
| 2000 | Canterbury starts its annual St Nicholas festival |
And where does Father Christmas fit in?
Father Christmas is not a version of St Nicholas at all. He is the old English personification of Christmas cheer, first called "Father Christmas" in print in 1658.3 When the American Santa arrived in Victorian Britain, the two merged, and by 1883 Father Christmas was coming down chimneys with toys for the stockings.9
The whole story is in Father Christmas vs Santa Claus, and the red suit myth is busted in Did Coca-Cola invent Santa?.
St Nicholas Day around Europe
In much of Europe, 6 December is still a big day for children, often bigger than Christmas itself:
| Where? | When? | What happens? |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | Evening of 5 December | Sinterklaas brings presents on pakjesavond, "parcel evening" |
| Germany | Night to 6 December | Children leave cleaned boots outside the door for sweets, nuts and fruit |
| England | Around 6 December | Church St Nicholas services; Boy or Chorister Bishops in some cathedrals |
| UK homes | 24 to 25 December | Santa or Father Christmas fills the stockings |
In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas arrives by steamer from Spain in mid-November, and the family celebration with presents is on 5 December.4 German children clean their boots and leave them outside the door on the night to 6 December.5 How Santa is known in other countries is in Santa in different languages.
Use this table
Writing about St Nicholas or Christmas traditions, or running a website for families or schools? Feel free to use the facts. A link back to this page is much appreciated:
<a href="https://personalisedsantavideo.co.uk/blog/st-nicholas-vs-santa-claus/">St Nicholas vs Santa Claus</a>
St Nicholas and Santa Claus: common questions
Is St Nicholas the same as Santa Claus?
Not quite. St Nicholas was a real bishop who lived in the 4th century. Santa Claus is a legendary figure who grew out of him: Dutch settlers brought "Sinterklaas" to New York, and his name became Santa Claus. So St Nicholas is the inspiration, Santa the later legend.
What is the difference between St Nicholas and Santa Claus?
St Nicholas is a saint with his own feast day, 6 December, and dresses as a bishop. Santa Claus comes on Christmas Eve, wears a red suit, lives at the North Pole and travels by reindeer.
When is St Nicholas Day?
On 6 December, the day Nicholas is said to have died. In the Netherlands the presents come on the evening before, 5 December.
Is St Nicholas celebrated in the UK?
Quietly, yes. England has more than 500 churches named after him, many hold a service around 6 December, and Canterbury has run a St Nicholas festival since 2000. Presents, though, come from Santa or Father Christmas on Christmas Eve.
Where is St Nicholas buried?
Most of his bones are in the Basilica di San Nicola in Bari, Italy, where merchants took them in 1087. In 2017 Oxford researchers dated a hip bone fragment revered as his to the 4th century.
Why do we hang stockings for Santa?
The custom is usually traced back to St Nicholas, who was known for secret gifts: he dropped gold through a poor family's window and left coins in the shoes people put out for him. Shoes on 6 December and stockings at Christmas both go back to that idea.
Sources
- 1Wikipedia: Saint Nicholas (en.wikipedia.org)
- 2Wikipedia: Santa Claus (en.wikipedia.org)
- 3Wikipedia: Father Christmas (en.wikipedia.org)
- 4St Nicholas Center: Netherlands (stnicholascenter.org)
- 5St Nicholas Center: Germany (stnicholascenter.org)
- 6St Nicholas Center: St Nicholas in England (stnicholascenter.org)
- 7Archaeology magazine: Christian relic of Saint Nicholas radiocarbon dated (2017) (archaeology.org)
- 8Wikipedia: Boy bishop (en.wikipedia.org)
- 9Library of Congress, Folklife Today: Christmas Cousins (2018) (loc.gov)