When Virginia O’Hanlon , an 8 - year - old miss fromNew York City , sent a alphabetic character addressed to the paper The Sun in 1897 , she asked a very simple-minded question : " Please tell me the truth ; is there a Santa Claus ? " In what must have been a surprisal to her , the question was answered quite frankly . After calling out Virginia ’s " little friend " for doubt the existence of Santa Claus and being cloud by an age of scepticism , the author of the clause , Francis Pharcellus Church , make his straight response , " Yes , Virginia , there is a Santa Claus . "
Christmas Image Gallery
Today , tyke all over the human beings are still asking the same question as Virginia did . So who precisely is this Santa Claus hombre , and why would he get so much skepticism among boys and girls ? Is he some sort of magical figure ? How could one person cause so much hullabaloo , doubt and even business organisation ?
This Santa Claus guy is likely pretty tightlipped about his surgical process . Along with Mrs. Claus , elvesand a certain reindeer with aglowing , cerise nose , Santa is look upon to live at the North Pole , an impressive feat since the temperature almost never go up above freezing .
Because the North Pole is n’t the most hospitable place for the great unwashed to travel to , it would be hard for most citizenry to withstand the harsh weather and approximative terrain in rescript to bring in any serious intel on Santa . And although no one may ever fuck for certain just how Santa lock , we at HowStuffWorks have what we mean are the most logical explanations for how the big guy reach all that he does : science and engineering .
To find out more about Santa , the train he might utilize and his possible connection to center Santas , scan on.
Naughty or Nice?
Santa Claus is one of the most popular and recognisable figure onEarth . He ’s been depicted in lots of holiday - theme shows , from the 1947 moving-picture show " Miracle on 34th Street " to the 1964televisionspecial " Rudolph the Red - nosed Reindeer " to more recent films like " Elf " in 2003 . Many countries have unlike names for him – although he ’s Santa Claus in North America , he goes by Father Christmas in the United Kingdom , Père Noël in France , Babbo Natale in Italy and Sinterklaas in Holland , where he ’s associated with the Dec. 6 St. Nicholas Day celebration .
Whether you call him St. Nicholas , St. Nick or Santa Claus , though , the man stand for the same affair to nigh everyone who celebrates Christmas and the vacation season – he ’s known as a benevolent soul , a giver of gifts and a spreader ofChristmascheer .
allot to Christmas folklore , Santa ’s main concern is making toys and distributing them in a timely and orderly fashion to children all over the world . This has collect him quite a following . After all , children like toys , and Santa give toy dog away – therefore , children like Santa Claus .
Santa not only pass on toys off , but he does it in fashion , too . He rides in his very ownsleighled by a team of reindeer , but it is n’t just any honest-to-goodness sleigh – this one fly and hearsay has it that it can make it around the world in just one night . It ’s also imagine by some that Santa does n’t simply put across by your business firm and leave a few presents on your doorstep – he lands on top of your ceiling , climbs down your chimneyand put presents both in your stockings and around yourChristmas tree .
But where does Santa get all of these toys ? sure enough one could n’t make or grease one’s palms all of that merchandise by himself . That ’s whereSanta ’s elvescome in . It ’s potential that these slight workers possess a drive and energy even the pocket-sized ofnanorobotscouldn’t match , so Santa would never have to interest too much about being behind in production .
There ’s a catch to Santa ’s good will , however . concord to the classic Christmas song " Santa Claus is come to Town , " Santa ’s always watching : " He ’s hit a list / he ’s check it doubly / he ’s gon na regain out who ’s naughty or nice . " A with child part of his job is to keep an eye on your behavior over the course of the year – if you ’ve behaved well , there ’s a right chance you ’ll get what you require for Christmas . If your behavior was less than satisfactory , however , you hazard getting nothing but a lummox of coal in your stocking . How does he do this ? Our undecomposed bet is that he ’s using something similar toGoogle Earth . Think of that , thenfast - forward into the futurea few hundred years .
In the next section , we ’ll search what Santa might look like in soul and we ’ll speculate some of the limited gadgets and technologies he might use .
Santa’s Appearance and Santa Gear
If you ’ve ever pay attention to the float during theMacy ’s Thanksgiving Day Parade , you ’ll notice one constant from year to year – Santa Claus is always the enceinte close , the last one to pass through the streets ofNew York City . We ’d have to assume that this is his only major official public appearance during the year , since he would be fantastically meddlesome unionize wish leaning and keeping tabs onelfproductivity .
That brief glimpse , however , is enough to let us know that all those songs , poems , stories and movie about Santa Claus could be fairly accurate in their visual representation . Whether Santa is portrayed on flick in live - action or in halt - motion vitality , Hollywood has his image down jolly well – he ’s a tumid , rather plump out older man with white hair and a long , bloodless beard , and most of the time he ’s wearing his trademark red suit and red stocking cap . His cheeks are almost always a rose - emblazon hue , and it may not be because he ’s been drinking too much eggnog . As we mentioned earlier , the atmospheric condition is very cold in the North Pole , so his peel could become easily chapped .
Our good estimate are that Santa must use some serious gear to bear presents :
In the next section , we ’ll examine whether there ’s any connexion to Santa and the mall Santas you might descry while you do your vacation shopping .
Mall Santas and Letters to Santa
If you ’re ever strolling through your local shopping centre afterThanksgiving , you might note Santa Claus in the centre of the shopping centre . There ’s probably an unbearably longsighted pipeline of child wait for the chance to talk to Santa and tell him what they really want this year for Christmas present tense . Perhaps you smile and undulation , and Santa will smile and wave right back , laughing his recondite , trademark " Ho , ho , ho ! " and you ’ll move on .
Shortly thereafter , you might amble on over to the other local plaza , the one that ’s across the street . Wandering around from store to store , you might notice yet another Santa Claus , more or less different from the one you just saw at the other shopping centre . How could this be ? Is the mall some kind of portal betweenparallel universe ? Is one the real Santa and the other a fake ? Or are they both impostors ?
First things first : These Santas believably do n’t regard themselves to be " fake , " and they may not take account the word " impostor . " If anything , you might call them " messengers . " LikeSanta ’s elves , we believe that the most legitimate explanation is that they ’re an extension phone of the Santa ’s Helpers Alliance , aka , mall Santas .
Mall Santas are people just like you and me , but they must pass a few specifications to carry out their seasonal duties . They must be of similar build to Santa Claus . They must be in the appropriate years range of 50 to 60 years one-time , and they must sport an satisfactory beard . Mall Santas must also graduate from a special Santa School , where they ’ll learn to express mirth like Santa , eat like Santa and keep a snow - white beard like Santa [ rootage : LA Times ] . Could it be that Santa pull back up the curriculum himself ?
A mall Santa ’s business is round-eyed – he must ask children want they desire for Christmas , ensure they ’ve acquit this year , and then institutionalize detailede - mailreports back to Santa Claus . A shopping center Santa ’s workplace answer for for about 33 per centum of all gift requests , making them an crucial part of Santa ’s team – the other 67 percent of Christmas wishes are sent directly to the North Pole by postal service , of course . Nearly 100,000 letters make it out every holiday season to Santa ’s computer address at the North Pole .
Why would Santa postulate an alliance of Mall Santas ? Even though he might make it around the world in one dark , he could n’t be in lots of different places all at the same time . We ’ll have to take over that he ’s not quite there yet with the technology . For the moment , he has to reconcile with a complex but efficient way of collecting Christmas wish information .
For more information about Santa , Christmas and the holiday , visit the next varlet .
