1. Santa Claus was a real person…well, kind of. The Santa Claus we know today is loosely based on the real St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who was born around the year 270 A.D. St. Nicholas developed a reputation for helping the poor, and particularly impoverished children. Legend has it that small children would leave their shoes out so that St. Nicholas would leave treats and coins in them. However, some sources say that St. Nicholas also had a reputation for being a bit rowdy and was even known for having struck another bishop at one time. Today St. Nicholas, the predecessor to our modern day Santa Claus, is recognized by the Catholic Church as the patron saint of children, thieves, students, butchery, sailors, merchants and pawnbrokers among others. The diversity of his patron sainthood appears to also reflect the diversity of his real life reputation. He is one of the most depicted of the recognized saints, second only to Mary.
2. Santa Claus was a bachelor until the late 19th century. The first mention of a spouse for Santa is believed to have been in a short story titled A Christmas Legend by James Rees in 1849. Perhaps if Santa Claus had remained a bachelor, there would be even more than seven wild facts to report about the jolly man in red.
