Santa Claus as we know him today has only existed since the 19th century, and he first slid down the chimney in a 1812 book by Washington Irving. But the fireplace served as a venue for magical ...

While Santa Claus was Dutch, Kris Kringle came by way of the Germans who first settled in Pennsylvania and then spread out, particularly in the late 1800s. The name Kris Kringle, though, was ...

SANTA CLAUS STUCK IN A CHIMNEY.; How Sampson Getholtz, Meaning to Please His Family, Came to Grief. Share full article. Dec. 26, 1893. Credit... The New York Times Archives.

But, by the 1820s, a children’s book introduced Sante Claus in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, suggesting that his modern reputation was established by then. His iconic attire, though, didn’t ...