Saint Nicholas: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

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Christmas party 1820 with St. Nicholas. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

"Saint Nicholas" is just one of the many names by which we call the jolly old elf who (allegedly) brings us presents every Christmas, but while the existence of Santa Claus remains up for debate, we know that Saint Nicholas was a real person. Over the years, the real-life story of this Christian saint merged with folklore from Scandinavia to form the basis of our modern-day Santa Claus myths, but there are still a few differences. Let's take a closer look at the real life of Saint Nicholas to see how the roots of the Santa stories began.