Customer Reviews

Biography - Santa Claus

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is by far the best history of Santa Claus I have seen (and I've searched them all out). A respectful treatment of the religious tradition of St. Nick and a very extensive history to the modern legend of Santa Claus. I can not recommend this video more highly

My children were coming to the age where they did not believe in Santa as a live person who comes down your chimmeney. They had a lot of questions about how he got to be the icon that he is and what exactly he had to do with Christmas a very religious holiday. This explains alot of who the real Santa Claus was and how he got to be so commercialized. Good for some children and all adults.

For the most part, I thought this was a very interesting DVD. However, I let my 3 and 7 year old children watch it with me. Near the beginning, there was a graphic cartoon image of three little boys who had mutilated and stuffed into a pickle barrel. St. Nicholas brought them back to life and was able to reassemble their bodies. I really didn't think it was necessary to have such a violent visual image. Also, near the end of the movie, there was a brief segment about how Santa is not always seen as a good guy---there was a movie clip of some murderer in a Santa suit chasing a person with an ax. Again, was that really necessary? There should definitely be a warning at the beginning of the show telling parents that there are some images which might not be suitable for young kids. Or, here's a crazy thought, just delete the violent scenes! It's a Christmas DVD which the whole family should be able to watch.

I had purchased the VHS version of this show some years ago. It is a great video. Jack Perkins has one of those great "booming baritone" voices for doing voice-over work and a great personality to go along with it. When I saw that a DVD of the show was available, I bought it. Within minutes of playing it, I discovered that this DVD version is NOT simply the VHS version on DVD but an entirely different one. So if you're thinking that this DVD is just a "remastered" version of the original VHS version, be forewarned. I can't speak highly enough of the "original" VHS version. Absolutely one of my favorite Christmas videos.

A delightful chronological review of the Santa Claus figure from pre-Christian through St Nicholas and most fascinating, just how the standardized modern Santa evolved to his present form. Great fun and does not destroy the Santa myth since the spirit of Santa is the same whatever he looks like.

A&E's Award Winning Series BIOGRAPHY featuring non-other than SANTA CLAUS.

This 50 minute color DVD uncovers the real history of this endearing Christian character. Pieces of todays 'Santa Claus' through this biography are derived from fact, legends, traditional folklore tales from all over Europe, Mideast and North & South Americas. A very interesting woven tapestry of information about this lovable Christmas Spirit of love and giving. Even a Patron Saint of children, sailors, merchantmen and more.

A very enjoyable and enlightening story. Very educational and provides many pictures of this jolly old elf.

I highly recommend this holiday treat!! Enjoy!!!

I have had this for a few years and we watch it every Christmas-time.
Very informative and totally enjoyable!!!!

Nice addition to your dvd or vhs library :)

I purchased this movie for my middle school students. I needed something to end our "non-fiction" writing unit, and since we'd studied biographies and it was December, this seemed like a good pick. Unfortunately, I liked it a lot more than they did. The guests they interviewed and the history behind Santa was captivating for me, but the kids all fell asleep! Basically, I think you'll enjoy this if you are a History Channel lover like me, a Christmas fan, or just someone who likes stories behind pop culture. However, the kids said it was "soooooooo boring". I should've known! :)

If you're in the mood to relax and watch a well-told history of the man in red this is the DVD for you! If you're an educator this is great for students, to teach them not about religion but about a well-known character in our past/present/future!!

This is a historical recapitulation of the facts and legends that have been modified and combined to create what we now know as Santa Claus. There have been many names for the creature that embodies the holiday spirit. Some of them are Saint Nicolas (Nick), Kris Kringle, Father Christmas and Santa Claus.
The legend began in Turkey with the life of a priest called Nicolas. He was a kindly man that worked hard to improve the lives of children and the unfortunate. One legend that I found interesting was based on a man that was too poor to provide a dowry for his daughter. At the time, that meant that she would almost certainly be sold into prostitution or slavery. Taking pity on her, Nicolas wrapped some gold in cloth and dropped it through a window. At the time, people commonly hung their socks on the fireplace overnight to dry and the gold happened to land in a sock. Hence was born the custom of hanging socks on the fireplace so that they will be filled by Santa.
It was fascinating to follow the descriptions by historians and experts in folklore as they describe how the legend of Saint Nicolas was expanded and modified to conform to local legends. Most of the development of the legend was evolutionary, yet there were a few times when single events revolutionized how Santa was perceived. One of the most interesting was the origin of the phrase, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."