Getting to the bones of Santa’s authenticity at the Basilica di San Nicola
By Lisa Bitel, Professor of History & Religion, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Santa has several aliases, depending on the part of the world you live in. The English call him Father Christmas, the French know him as Père Noël, and Kris Kringle seems be a version of the Christkind, or Christ Child, who leaves treats for good German Lutherans. In the Netherlands, he arrives in town on a steamboat or horse from Spain. On the night of Dec. 5, Dutch children put their shoes on the hearth – these days near the central heating duct...
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