Father Christmas is based on a real person, St. Nicholas, which explains his other name 'Santa Claus' which comes from the Dutch 'Sinterklaas'. Nicholas was a Christian leader from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) in the 4th century AD. He was very shy, and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. It is said that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in children's stockings.

圣诞老人源于土耳其历史上的一个真实人物，他的名字叫圣尼古拉斯，他的另一个名字'Santa Claus' 源于荷兰语'Sinterklaas'。尼古拉斯是一个从米拉（现在的土耳其）来的基督教领袖。尼古拉斯很害羞，想给穷人赠送物资又怕被穷人知道。传说，有一天，他从房顶的烟囱里扔前给某户人家，结果刚好扔进了那位姑娘的袜子里，那个姑娘原本是把袜子挂在炉边想烤干的。这或许就是大家相信圣诞老人从烟囱里把礼物放进孩子的袜子里的缘由吧。

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圣·尼古拉斯（Saint Nicholas）是圣诞老人原型（Santa Clause），是土耳其历史上真实存在的一位主教。公元前3世纪末，圣·尼古拉斯出生在地中海沿岸的潘特拉（Patara）。他虽出生在一个富裕人家，但从小心地善良，乐善好施，经常救助穷人。圣·尼古拉斯喜欢以匿名的方式赠送给当地穷人各种礼物。在公元346年去世后，他被尊称为圣人，其生前事迹后来演变成今天圣诞老人的传说。

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