Christmas Day: How old is Santa Claus in real life?

Awaited by millions of children around the world, every 24 December he arrives with his reindeer-drawn sleigh to bring gifts of Christmas.

His laboratory would be there Laplandin northern Finland, and is easily recognizable by his long white beard, chubby figure and red dress with white piping.

The legend that has fascinated children since ancient times originates from a bishop from Asia Minor who was also famous for his miracles and, above all, for his sense of charitywhich distinguished him from his youth.

That bishop died in the 4th century. But many wonder how old he would be today if he were an immortal person like the legend of him.

How old is Santa Claus in real life?

Santa Claus, or Father Christmas, is inspired by Nicholas, who was bishop of Myra, a city in the Lycia region of present-day Turkey. Born to a wealthy family, in the city of Patara, also in Lycia, around year 270he was orphaned at an early age.

Then he began to distribute the family’s wealth among the neediest. Consecrated priest by an uncle who was a bishop, he embarked for the Holy Land to see the places where Jesus Christ lived and was crucified. Upon his return, one of his many miracles worked.

Tradition says that the ship he was traveling on was hit by a great storm which put it on the brink of shipwreck. To the sailors’ surprise, the waves and wind subsided as Nicholas asked God to intercede through his prayers.

It is also known that Nicolás helped with money a neighbor who could not pay the dowry for his three daughters, who were of marriageable age. To prevent young women from falling into prostitution, Nicolas he gave the money without making himself known.

His consecration as bishop of Myra is also legendary. He came to occupy that position because the priests who were looking for a bishop for the city agreed to appoint the first one to enter the church where they gathered. And that was Nicolas.

The bishop administered the diocese during the persecution of Christians ordered by Emperor Diocletian. He was subsequently arrested and subjected to torture. He gained freedom in the year 325 after Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity as the religion of the Empire.

Nicholas died on 6 December 343. Soon his tomb, in Myra, became a place of pilgrimage because his relics emanate a mysterious miraculous substance, known as “manna”.

When the city fell to the Turks in the 11th century, a group of Christians rescued the relics and brought them to the city of Bari (present-day Italy). There they remain on the altar of a church completed in 1089, when Pope Urban II placed the relics on the altar, where they remain today.

The tradition of give gifts to good children It was widely spread in the Netherlands and Germanic territories, where St. Nicholas began to be known as St. Nicholas. The celebration took place on December 6, but then began to coincide with Christmas Eve.

From the Netherlands the custom reached the United States where, in the 19th century, Santa Claus has become a very popular character. Described by Washington Irving as someone who flies over houses to throw presents into chimneys, his current image has been captured in several illustrations, including Coca-Cola advertisements.

Since the date of birth is quite imprecise, who calculates it current age of Santa Claus They take the date of death, which is the year 343. This way, if he were still alive, Santa Claus would be 1,680 years old.