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We know Santa Claus today  as the jovial father figure associated with Christmas. Elves labor in the toy workshop before famously named reindeer fly across the sky with Santa in the sleigh. But Santa's story, and evolution, is far more complicated than this. Also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and Santa, the patron saint of the holiday changed over centuries. He was born from Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children and a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra, in what today is Turkey. St. Nick was portrayed as bearded in robes as the patron saint of archers, sailors, pawnbrokers and children, a starting point for what would become today's Santa.

Children in the Middle Ages were given gifts on St. Nick's  name day, December 6, but Martin Luther shifted to giving gifts to children on Christmas. Father Christmas was born in the 16th century in England as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur,  bringing peace, joy, good food, wine and revelry. Father Christmas' celebration was moved to December 25 to coincide with Christmas Day. Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” portrays him as a jovial man in a green coat lined with fur. But today's Santa, and the red attire, hadn't yet arrived on he scene.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, a figure named  Sinterklaas based on Saint Nicolas evolved while Germanic people including the British celebrated Yule, which was absorbed into Christmas. Wodan or Odin played a principal role in Yuletide as a blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded “Giftbringer," riding the winter sky on his horse Sleipnir, delivering gifts. We were getting closer to today's Santa. Washington Irving's History of New York , published in1809, renamed Sinterklass as Santa Claus, a name first used in North America in 1773. Irving portrayed him as a heavy Dutch sailor with a pipe and a green winter coat. An 1821 book titled "A New Year's Present," written by an anonymous author, describes "Old Santeclaus” on a sleigh towed by reindeer, bringing gifts to children. "A Visit From St. Nicholas," now known as "The Night Before Christmas,"  was published Dec. 23 1823 in the Sentinel, in Troy, New York. Clement Moore is credited with writing it, but some believe Henry Livingston, Jr. , who died before Moore claimed authorship, is the true author.

St. Nick in that poem is described as "chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf" with "a little round belly" that "shook when he laughed”  with a sled and reindeer named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem. Dunder and Blixem came from Dutch for thunder and lightning, transformed into Donner and Blitzen. By 1845, "Kris Kringle" caught on in the United States as illustrator Thomas Nast refined his image, showing Santa in an American flag and mentioning "Santa Claussville, N.P." and a Santa who lived "near the North Pole, in the ice and snow.”

Frank Baum's "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" was published in 1902 with leaping reindeer and and a "Santa" elected by a vote. White Rock Beverages used Santa in black and white ads to market mineral water in 1915 and in 1923–25 in color with drink mixers. Haddon Sundblom's depiction in a 1930s Coca-Cola ad showed him in red and white, followed by Pepsi-Cola with similar advertisements. Leedham Bantock in 1912 became the first actor to portray Santa on film followed by Miracle on 34th Street, The Santa Clause, and Elf. Mickey Rooney, Jim Belushi, and Alec Baldwin portrayed Santa in cartoons. Santa is a beloved figure, but also the result of many traditions and visions that converged to create the character we know today.