Santa or St.Nicholas (Niklaus/Samichlaus as I remember it from childhood) is an integral part of Christmas.
Prompted by my daughters enquires (bless kids and their one million questions ) and something I saw on TV the other day (namely, his image having been created by Coca Cola ) I did some digging.
I was somewhat familiar with the story of Saint Nicholas – this is the historical side of things and quite an interesting read if you have only a vague idea.
How he came to be as he is portrayed today is here, including the bit about Coca Cola's influence.
And this is how I remember it from when I was a kid clickety Those "Schmutzli's" once scared the sweet beejeebees out of me!
Samichlaus (St.Nicholas) & 'Schmutzli'
Schmutzli
Do you have some special / strange and wonderful customs where you live involving Santa and Christmas?