Welcome to the history tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

Hello, it's Beckett.

And Susan, we just want to wish all of you happy, happy holidays.

As is our tradition, this time of year, we are posting our coverage of an unsung hero who holds the whole thing together from behind the scenes.

One Mrs. Claus.

We'll be back after the first of the year with new subjects and new episodes, and that's so exciting to me because I know who we're covering next.

That's the closest we're getting to

Christmas Carol. Best wishes to all of you. Happiness and health to all. And we will see you

again in the new year. And now on with the show. Hello and welcome to the show. It's Just Beckett

today with a tiny little minicast about one of the most undersigned characters that's around during this time of year.

Today, I'm going to give you the history of Mrs. Clause.

Santa's mostly patient, certainly tolerant, wife of somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 years or so.

A note to listeners with young children in the room do preview the content, you know,

just in case I say something of a revealing nature about, shall we say, the Charlie old elf himself.

So on we go.

Once upon a time, Santa Claus was a bachelor, not only a bachelor, but a bishop, Nicholas of Myra,

in modern-day Turkey, who was born in the year

270. He used to pay the dowries of poor girls on the sly and leave treats for the children

of his town, theoretically anonymously. But the word went out, if you leave your shoes out on the

steps and someone happens to be passing by, well, you just never

know.

The legend began with a real man and was kept alive by the Dutch tradition of Sinter Claus.

...