Doesn't the word 'Santa' mean female saint? Shouldn't it be 'Santo' Claus?

Wrong language family, Blam. Santa Claus doesn't come from Spanish or any other Romance language, but from Dutch, where it was originally Sinterklaas, from Sint Nikolaas, for Saint Nicholas. Our form Santa Claus is an alteration of the Dutch form cited first above.

If you paid closer attention to Miracle on 34th Street, you would know this. In that movie, Kris Kringle sings a song to the little Dutch girl, remember, and it is all about Sinterklaas. Kris Kringle, on the other hand, appears to be a name derived from German Christ Kindl, or Christ child.

P.S. Saint Nicholas was a real person, so Santa is indeed real. But I thought you Brits always called him by the rather stuffy name Father Christmas.

[This message was edited by maiku on 12-11-02 at 03:13 PM.]

Thanks for the explanation Maiku. But it must be confusing for the Spanish kids!