[00:00.00]Now, the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
[00:17.76]Santa Claus is someone who will remain in the hearts of children forever.
[00:24.59]He is the make-believe person who brings toys and other gifts to children at Christmas.
[00:31.92]To grown-ups, he is a special symbol of goodwill and selfless giving.
[00:38.23]Santa Claus also has some other names: Saint Nicholas, St. Nick, Kris Kringle, Pelznickel.
[00:47.53]Two of his names -- Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas --
[00:52.99]both come from the Dutch who settled in New York long ago.
[00:58.76]The Dutch believed Saint Nikolas gave gifts to children.
[01:04.88]They honored this kindly saint with a yearly festival on December sixth.
[01:11.51]The English-speaking people who lived nearby greatly enjoyed Dutch festivals.
[01:18.27]And they brought the saint and the custom of giving gifts
[01:22.84]into their own celebration at Christmas time.
[01:26.20]The Dutch spoke the name "Saint Nikolaas" very fast.
[01:32.83]It sounded like "sinterklaas." And so,
[01:37.96]when the English said this word, it sounded like Santa Claus.
[01:43.57]West of New York, in Pennsylvania,
[01:47.98]many German farmers had also heard of Saint Nikolas.
[01:53.89]But they called him Pelznickel. This word came from "pelz," meaning fur,
[02:02.01]and "nickel" for Nicholas. And so, to the Germans of Pennsylvania,
[02:08.37]Saint Nicholas or Pelznickel was a man dressed in fur
[02:14.64]who came once a year with gifts for good children.
[02:20.20]Soon, people began to feel that the love and kindness Pelznickel brought
[02:28.15]should be part of a celebration honoring the Christkindl,
[02:33.62]as the Germans called the Christ child. After a time, this became Kris Kringle.
[02:42.95]Later, Kris Kringle became another name for Santa Claus himself.
[02:50.45]Whatever he is called, he is still the same short, fat,
[02:57.15]jolly old man with a long beard, wearing a red suit with white fur.
[03:03.66]The picture of Santa Claus as we see him came from Thomas Nast.
[03:09.92]He was an American painter born in Bavaria.
[03:14.78]He painted pictures for Christmas poems.
[03:18.05]Someone asked him to paint a picture of Santa Claus.
[03:22.76]Nast remembered when he was a little boy in southern Germany.
[03:28.52]Every Christmas, a fat old man gave toys and cakes to the children.
[03:36.30]So, when Nast painted the picture,
[03:40.76]his Santa Claus looked like the kindly old man of his childhood.
[03:46.48]And through the years,
[03:48.83]Nast's painting has remained as the most popular picture of Santa Claus.
[03:55.15]Santa can be seen almost everywhere in large American cities during the Christmas season.
[04:03.42]Some stand on street corners asking for money to buy food and gifts for the needy.
[04:11.20]Others are found in stores and shopping centers.
[04:16.15]It is easy to find them by the long lines of children
[04:22.30]waiting to tell Santa what they want for Christmas.