The reveal comes after scientists reconstructed his likeness from the skull of the man who inspired Santa.
The true face of Santa Claus has been revealed after 1700 years.
Scientists reconstructed his likeness from the skull of the man who inspired Santa Claus; Saint Nicholas of Myra.
Saint Nicholas of Myra was an early Christian saint who had a reputation for gift-giving.
The generous reputation paved the way for Dutch folk figure of Sinterklaas, which later became Santa Claus in the US.
The idea of Santa Claus merged with the UK’s Father Christmas, who was often associated with feasting and games rather than gifts.
This combination created the character children know and love today.
With no depiction of the man surviving from his lifetime, his face can finally be seen thanks to experts who used his skull to forensically rebuild his features.
Modern forensic anthropology is typically used to identify crime victims, however, can also be used in cases like this, historic personages.
Expert facial anthropologist, Caroline Wilkinson called this ‘the most realistic appearance of St Nicholas based on all the skeletal and historical material’.
“It is thrilling for us to be able to see the face of this famous fourth century Bishop,” added Professor Wilkinson.
She explained: “The muscles connect in the same place on everyone, but because skulls vary in shape, a different face develops.
“The tangents from different parts of the nasal cavity determine the length of a nose.”
Professor Wilkinson described this as ‘difficult’ as St Nicholas’ had taken a ‘hefty blow’ to the nose which had been badly broken.
“We used clay on the screen that you can feel but not physically touch. It was very exciting. We did not have the physical skull, so we had to recreate it from two-dimensional data.
“We are bound to have lost some of the level of detail you would get by working from photographs, but we believe this is the closest we are ever going to get to him,” Professor Wilkinson concluded.
