Scientists reveal the real face of 'Santa Claus' with the help of 3D modeling

The existence of Santa Claus, the jolly figure in red who delivers gifts every Christmas, has long been a subject of debate. However, scientists have now seemingly uncovered what Santa Claus actually looked like. For the first time in over 1,700 years, the face of the man who inspired the iconic Christmas figure has been revealed, according to the Daily Mail. Using advanced 3D reconstruction techniques, a team of scientists has given Saint Nicholas of Myra, aka Santa Claus, a face—more than 1,600 years after he died in 343 AD.

Cicero Moraes, the lead author of the study, described the early Christian saint as having a "strong and gentle face." He explained, "The skull has a very robust appearance, generating a strong face, as its dimensions on the horizontal axis are larger than average." Moraes noted that this feature, combined with a thick beard, closely resembles the Santa Claus figure we envision today.

Jose Luis Lira, co-author of the study and an expert on the lives of saints, added, "He was a bishop who lived in the early centuries of Christianity and dared to defend and live the teachings of Jesus Christ, even at the risk of his life."

"He challenged the authorities, including the Roman Emperor, for this choice. He helped those in need so frequently and effectively that when people sought a symbol of kindness for Christmas, the inspiration came from him. His memory is universal not only among Christians but among all peoples," Lira shared. Moraes further explained how the saint became the figure we recognize as Santa Claus today. "The Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther, was a movement that contributed to the disappearance of devotion to Saint Nicholas in many countries. A notable exception was in the Netherlands, where the legend of Sinterklaas – which is a linguistic suppression of the saint's name – remained strong. The legend was anglicized into the name Santa Claus," Moraes said.

An illustration by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly magazine, created in early 1863, first depicted Santa Claus as we know him today. However, Moraes and his team relied on data collected in the 1950s by Luigi Martino, with permission from the Centro Studi Nicolaiani. Using this data, they reconstructed the skull in 3D by tracing the profile of the face with statistical projections. "We supplemented this with the anatomical deformation technique, in which the tomography of a living person's head is adjusted so that the virtual donor's skull matches that of the saint. The final face is an interpolation of all this information, seeking anatomical and statistical coherence," Moraes shared.

Two sets of images were created during the reconstruction. One was in greyscale, while the other featured more artistic touches, adding details like a beard and clothing to resemble Saint Nicholas. The reconstruction revealed more than just his face. Moraes and his team discovered that the saint likely suffered from chronic arthritis in his spine and pelvis. Additionally, the thickened bones of his skull suggested that he may have experienced frequent headaches.

The real Saint Nicholas was once the Bishop of Myra, located in present-day Turkey. Many stories are connected to him, including one where he reportedly resurrected three children murdered by a butcher. The saint's bones were originally discovered in Myra and were later moved to Bari, Italy, where they remain today. The study on the reconstruction of Santa Claus' face was published in the journal OrtogOnLineMag by Moraes, Lira, and their co-author, Thiago Beaini, according to the news outlet.