Santa Claus's real face revealed after 1700 years of mystery, experts try to recreate

After thousands of years, spreading forever with the name Santa Claus, but the real face of this man is still a mystery. Recently, experts have reconstructed from the skull, creating a real face that has caused a stir among the people.

Saint Nicholas of Myra was an early Christian saint known for his gift-giving, and he inspired the Dutch folk character Sinterklaas, who later became Santa Claus in the United States.

This legendary figure was later combined with the British 'Santa Claus', who was more associated with parties and games than gifts, to create the character that children love today. However, no images of the man behind the legend survive, with most of the images circulating being of 'Saint Nick' dating back centuries after his death in 343 AD.

Now his actual face can be seen for the first time since the days of the Roman Empire after experts used his skull to reconstruct his features. Lead author Mr Moraes said it was a "strong and gentle face". He said it also "uncannily matched" the "broad face" described in the 1823 poem A Visit From St Nicholas, widely known as 'Twas The Night Before Christmas.

'The skull has a very solid appearance, creating a powerful face because the cross-axial dimension of the skull is larger than average,' he said. 'This results in an odd "broad face" which is consistent with the 1823 poem. 'This feature, combined with the bushy beard, is very similar to the image we have of Father Christmas.'

José Luís Lira, Mr Moraes' co-author and an expert on the lives of the saints, describes the real significance of St Nicholas of Myra. He says: 'He was a bishop who lived in the early centuries of Christianity and had the courage to defend and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, even at the cost of his life. He challenged the authorities, including the Roman Emperor, for this choice. He helped those in need so often and so effectively that when people look for a symbol of kindness at Christmas, the inspiration comes from him. His memory is not only universal for Christians but for all faiths.'

Mr Moraes explains why the popular saint has become a folk legend today. 'The Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther was a movement that contributed to the loss of devotion to St Nicholas in many countries,' he says. 'A notable exception was the Netherlands, where the legend of Sinterklaas – a linguistic metaphor for the saint's name – survived, even influencing the country's colonies. One of these colonies was the city of New Amsterdam, now New York, where the legend was Anglicised as Father Christmas. He was portrayed as an old man who punished naughty children and rewarded good ones.'

He continued: 'The image of Santa Claus as we know him today is based on an illustration by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly in early 1863. This in turn was inspired by a description in an 1823 poem called A Visit from St. Nicholas attributed to Clement Clarke Moore.'

The poem spawned many popular conceptions of the folk character we know today, including the rosy cheeks, reindeer, sleigh, bag of toys, and "broad face" described earlier.

To create the face, Mr Moraes and his team used data collected by Luigi Martino in the 1950s, courtesy of the Centro Studi Nicolaiani. 'We first reconstructed the skull in 3D using this data,' he said. 'Then we traced the shape of the face using statistical projection. We added an anatomical deformation technique, in which a tomography scan of a living person's head was adjusted so that the virtual donor's skull matched the saint's skull. The final face is an interpolation of all this information, looking for anatomical and statistical consistency.

'He apparently suffered from severe osteoarthritis in his spine and pelvis, and his skull had thickened bone which could have caused frequent headaches,' Mr Moraes said. 'His diet was predominantly plant-based, according to the source.'

During his lifetime, Saint Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra, in what is now Türkiye. Many stories about him include saving three girls from prostitution by paying each of their dowries, allowing them to marry. He is also said to have resurrected three children who had been murdered by a butcher, pickled them in brine, and planned to sell them as pork.

Christmas is a popular holiday but not everyone knows the strange story behind it Snow21:45:49 23/12/2023Christmas is one of the most popular holidays globally, even in countries with few Christians. Each place will have its own organization and contain many interesting and equally strange stories.