Early illustrations of Santa Claus often pictured him as a stern, commanding disciplinarian holding a birch rod.

In 1087, the Italian city of Bari mounted an expedition to locate the tomb of the Saint. The reliquary of St. Nicholas was conquered by Italian sailors and his relics were taken to Bari, in Southern Italy where they are kept to this day.

He's making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice

The winter solstice, also known as Yule, was a time when Odin led a hunting party, known as the Wild Hunt, in the sky with an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir, which some scholars have compared to the legends of Santa's reindeer. During this time, Odin was portrayed as an old man with a long white beard. In the winter months, children would leave their boots near the chimney, filling it with food for Sleipnir. Odin would come down the chimney and fill the children's boots with gifts in return.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

The town was originally called Santa Fe. When its citizens asked for a post office in 1856, they were told that Indiana already had a Santa Fe post office, so they renamed their town Santa Claus!

Traditionally, Santa gives the naughty children a lump of coal, but if he really wants to make a point, he may just fill your stocking with ashes.

On December 27, 2014, 18,112 Santas gathered in Thrissur, Kerala, India, breaking the previous record of 12,965 Santas in Derry City, Northern Ireland.

He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

Santa's sleigh crashes in Central Park, attracting a large crowd.