Word: st
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...very often, but he's actually Turkish. The world's most famous toymaker has had a diverse career - that's what happens when you stick around for over 1,700 years - and has dabbled in everything from raising the dead to working at the mall. A timeline of St. Nick's illustrious life...
...next several hundred years St. Nicholas's "name day," Dec. 6, coincides with the end of harvest and slaughter season in many European countries and becomes a favorite holiday to observe, especially in Holland, where he is known as "Sinterklaas." Kids leave their shoes out in the hopes that he will bring them a present. Nicholas has perfected his ability to tell naughty from nice by this time: Good children get a toy or candy; bad children receive a switch (with which they can be beaten...
16th & 17th centuries Puritanism sweeps England and America. Saints fall out of favor. Many countries stop observing St. Nicholas Day - excepting Holland. The Dutch are really into shoe gifts...
...York Historical Society founder John Pintard declares St. Nicholas to be the patron saint of New York City. To back up his friend's claim, Historical Society member Washington Irving publishes a History of New York, which includes a story about Nicholas - something about the Dutch and "New Amsterdam" and the fact that they're still leaving gifts in children's shoes...
...nickname "Santa Claus" has been growing in popularity, so St. Nick adopts it when he greets thousands of children at a Philadelphia department store. He also appears in newspaper advertisements around this time, urging people to buy Christmas presents...