Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy or simply Santa) is a folk hero in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, traditionally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus.. . Father Christmas is a well-loved figure in the United Kingdom and similar in many ways, though the two have quite different origins. Santa Claus is used interchangeably with the Father Christmas name, both understood to be the same person, with Father Christmas used as more of a formal name for the Santa Claus character (where 'Santa' is often viewed as an Americanism). Father Christmas is present instead of "Santa" also in Italy ("Babbo Natale"), Brazil ("Papai Noel"), Czech ("Svatý Mikuláš"), Portugal ("Pai Natal"), Romania ("Moş Crăciun"), Germany ("Weihnachtsmann"), France and French-speaking Canada ("Le Père Noël") and South Africa.. . Santa is a variant of a European folk tale based on the historical figure Saint Nicholas, a bishop from present-day Turkey, who gave presents to the poor. This inspired the mythical figure of Sinterklaas, the subject of a major celebration in the Netherlands and Belgium (where his alleged date of death is celebrated), which in turn inspired both the myth and the name of Santa Claus.. . He forms an important part of the Christmas tradition throughout the Western world and Japan and other parts of East Asia.. . In many Eastern Orthodox traditions, Santa Claus visits children on New Year's Day and is identified with Saint Basil whose memory is celebrated on that day.