Nicholas

St. Nicholas is said to arrive on horseback on his feast day, (December 6) dressed in a bishop's red robe and mitre and distribute sweets and presents to good children or lumps of coal or potatoes to the bad ones. The Dutch took the tradition to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in the American colonies, where he was transformed into Santa Claus by the English-speaking majority.

His legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents. The resulting image of Santa Claus in the United States crystallized in the 19th century, and he has since remained the patron of the gift-giving festival of Christmas. In Britain, he was primarily replaced with Father Christmas!