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1. A. St. Nicholas of Myra was born in Asia Minor, now Turkey.
2. E. Nicholas is the patron saint of all of those groups. I know many of you jumped at “Children” and stopped there.
3. D. Bari, Italy. In 1807, Italian sailors stole St. Nicholas’ bones and brought them home. On December 28, 2009, the Turkish government officially requested that they be returned to Nicholas’ birthplace. No word yet from Italy.
4. B. December 6 is St. Nicholas Day. It is still celebrated around the world.
5. Moore’s poem is officially entitled “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”
6. C. Thomas Nash
7. B. Christkindl = Christ-child
8. A. Martin Luther sought to break with the Catholic tradition of St. Nicholas Day, while maintaining the holiday practice of gift-giving to children. The result was a mythical, blond-haired Christ-child who mysteriously left presents for kids on Christmas Eve. Over the years, St. Nick and Kris Kringle have been conflated into Santa Claus.
9. D. America does not think of itself these days as a nation with a Dutch origin. However, immigrants from The Netherlands were common and rather influential a few centuries ago. Think back to the Dutch settlers in their colony of New Amsterdam giving their offspring the tradition of Sinterklaas.
10. B. “Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. ” Francis Pharcellus Church. The Sun of New York, September 21, 1897.
Match the Santa figure with the correct nation
1. D. Père Noël = France
2. F. Weihnachtsmann = Germany
3. B. Papai Noel = Brazil
4. I. Babbo Natale = Italy
5. G. Ded Moroz = Russia
6. H. Father Christmas = England
7. J. Jultomten = Sweden
8. A. Kerstman = The Netherlands
9. C. Swiety Mikolaj = Poland
10. E. Santo Clós = Mexico
— The Major
Kay Nou = Our House 