Santa Claus is an old character with origins that go back centuries. There are different explanations of what happened, but this blog will reveal the truth. The Origin of Santa Claus There are a few different theories about the origins of Santa Claus. The most popular theory, and one that is often accepted as the truth, is that he was born in the 5th century to a Christian family in ancient Turkey. He became known for his secret gift-giving throughout his life, and he eventually became a bishop in present-day Turkey. The next most popular explanation is that he has been around since the 4th century when Pope Julius I took over from Celestine I. It was during this time that Bishop Nicholas of Myra died on December 6th 343 AD during the persecution by Roman Emperor Constantine I. The third theory about Santa Claus's origins comes from a man named Francis Church. In 1823, Church wrote a book called "A General History of Christmas" which introduced the idea of Santa Claus to Americans for the first time. This book makes it clear that Santa Claus's name comes from "Saint Nicholas," but because there were no such things as copyright laws back then, Church got away with using images of Saint Nicholas in his book to represent Santa Claus without actually saying so.