How to Teach Children the History of Kris Kringle
Kris Kringle is the name for Santa Claus in Germany and parts of the Pennsylvania Dutch country. The name comes from the word Christkindl, or "Christ Child." The history of Kris Kringle is also the history of Santa Claus or St. Nicholas. Teaching children the story of Santa Claus can be a fun and interesting history lesson. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Show children a map of Turkey and tell them that the original Santa Claus or Kris Kringle was thought to be from Turkey. Santa Claus was a Christian monk named Nicholas, who was born around A.D. 280.
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Have a story time during which you share the story of St. Nicholas. Tell the children that there are many legends about St. Nicholas, but one of the most common legends is of how he gave three sisters money so that they could get married. By doing this he protected them being sold into slavery.
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Have children complete a timeline of the development of Santa Claus or Kris Kringle. Older children can complete more detailed timelines. Restrict the timeline to four or five events for younger children.
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As the story of St. Nicholas spread around the world new names for St. Nicholas formed including Santa Clause and Kris Kringle.
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Write the word Santa Claus on the board and ask the children to think of some other names for Santa Claus. Some of the names to talk about include Saint Nicholas, Babbo Natale, Bellsnickle, Christkindle, Jultomten, Pere Noel, Dun Che Lao Ren and Hagios Nikolaos.
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