Santa Claus, aka Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas, Père Noël, Babbo Natale, Pelznickel, Topo Gigio and many other names, provides joy and presents to children around the world on Christmas.
It is believed that the legend of Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born around 280 A.D. in Patara, Turkey. St. Nicholas had inherited wealth and gave away much (if not all) of his inheritance to the poor and suffering.
There are numerous stories of the impact of his kindness, and over the years he earned a reputation of being a protector of children. He died on December 6th and each year on his death traditions held that it was a particularly lucky day to make large purchases or get married.
Santa became popular in American traditions around the founding of the United States of America when a settlement of Dutch families gathered to honor the anniversary of St. Nicholas' death. By the early 1800s, and in particular by 1820, stores began to advertise Christmas shopping.
Remember Christmases past? What was, or even remains today, your favorite part of Christmastime?
Christmas is a time of family, friends, spirit, and food. A time for presents, seeing Santa surrounded by young children and parents, having lunch with friends, being immersed in decorations, and - de...
World War 1, the Mexican Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Easter Rising in Ireland . . . the sinking of the Titanic and the Lusitania. Spanish flu killed well over 20 million people world wide ...
Photos documenting holidays, special events, and celebrations.
Before the advent of photography, we didn't have a way to see visually what happened. Now, of course, we have over two centuries of visual recollections of how people celebrate the important events i...
Explore past photos showcasing the people and places of New York.
Known for the famous New York City which is home to Wall Street and is one of the wealthiest cities in the world, New York is also well known for Ellis Island where many of our ancestors immigrated in...
I am researching Tasker, Jones, Bowen, Rees of Wales; Kroetch, Chartrand of Canada; and Boggs, Ferguson, Smith, of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Also Steeples of Kansas. And on my mother's New England roots - well, too numerous to name since she descends from Mayflower passengers as well as Dutch East India captains who arrived with their families before the Mayflower landed further north than was planned. :) I'm a Founder of AncientFaces and support the community answering questions & helping members make connections to the past (thus my official title of Founder & Content and Community Director). For me, it's been a labor of love for over 20 years. I truly believe with all of my heart that everyone should be remembered for generations to come.
I am 2nd generation San Jose and have seen a lot of changes in the area while growing up. We used to be known as the "Valley of Heart's Delight" (because the Valley was covered with orchards and there were many canneries to process the food grown here, which shipped all over the US) - now we have adopted the nickname "Capital of Silicon Valley" and Apple, Ebay, Adobe, Netflix, Facebook, and many more tech companies are within a few miles of my current home in Campbell (including AncientFaces). From a small town of 25,000, we have grown to 1 million plus. And when you add in all of the communities surrounding us (for instance, Saratoga, where I attended high school, living a block from our current Mayor), we are truly one of the big cities in the US. I am so very proud of my hometown. For more information see Kathy - Founder & Content and Community Director