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Saint Nicholas, also known as
Santa Claus is very old. He was born over a thousand years ago in Turkey.
When he was a young priest, he secretly gave a gift of gold coins to three very
poor girls. The father of the girls saw Nicholas perform this good deed.
Nicholas was embarrassed, and asked the father not to tell anyone. The
father kept his secret for a while, but eventually he told the world about the
good deeds and generosity of Nicholas. As you can see, the spirit of
giving at Christmas has a very long history. |
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People view
St. Nick in many different ways. In England, he is called Father
Christmas, while French children call him Pčre Nöel. Some
Swiss children call him Samichlaus, and Dutch children call him
Sinterklaas. Hungarian children call him Mikulás, and others call him
Saint Nicholas. Children in North America used to call him Kris Kringle
or Bellsnickle, but now they call him Santa Claus. Santa means
"saint", and Claus sounds like the last part of Nicholas. |
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