Sloto Magazine Blog

A short history of Santa Claus
As featured on Sloto Magazine

The portly jolly white-bearded man known today as Santa Claus has evolved in very interesting ways throughout history. Today we can find him in most shopping centers around Xmas time. A few hundred years ago, you’ll be lucky to find an old portrait in a cathedral of the man that inspired the modern day Santa Claus.

It starts with St. Nicholas of Myra, a bishop that lived in the 4^th century AD in the Byzantine Empire in modern day Turkey. He was renowned for gift-giving and for leaving gifts in stockings. He was honored in Britain as the Father of Christmas.

The Dutch, on the other hand, based their legendary figure Sinterklaas on St. Nicholas and made him the patron of children. Sinterklaas was often depicted with a long white beard and a red cape over his bishop attire.

Did you know the Santa Claus you know was born in 1823?

The Santa Claus we know today started to emerge in the 19^th century. A famous American Professor, Clement Clarke Moore, published in 1823 a Christmas poem titled A Visit from St. Nicholas or, better known as, The Night before Christmas.

With this poem he nearly single-handedly created the modern American vision of Santa Claus. He made Santa an elf rather than a priest, gave him a fur coat and a pipe! On his back he carried a sack full of toys for the children. Moore also gave him a sleigh and 8 reindeer that could fly, each with their own name.

Here enters Thomas Nast, a caricaturist from New York. He published a series of Christmas cartoons in Harper’s Weekly (a leading magazine of that time). Nast transformed Moore’s Santa elf by making taller. He gave him a home in the North Pole and made him read a Naughty or Nice list.

Today Santa Claus is a recognizable figure worldwide, part and parcel of the Christmas tradition.

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As featured on Sloto Magazine

We’ve looked through hundreds of gift ideas to boil it down to some essentials you might want to get for you or your dear ones. Have a look at these state-of-the-art gifts that are practical, useful and simply too cool to ignore!

 Bluetooth Tracking Tag

There can’t be anything more annoying than not finding your keys (or your tablet, or purse!). With this small Bluetooth tag made with real rosewood, you can easily track your belongings with an App on your phone.

Where to buy: uncommongoods.com
Price: $40

Echo Dot Speaker

Amazon has produced a sleek-looking and practical speaker that is powered by Alexa. What is Alexa? It is Amazon’s voice recognizing technology that is now in millions of devices. This speaker will recognize your voice and follow your commands, whether it is to play your favorite playlist on Spotify, set a timer for pasta, or even to control lights and temperature in your home.

Small, elegant and affordable, Echo Dot makes a great gift for the tech-savvy.

Where to buy: Amazon.com
Price: $50

Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb

Here is another Alexa controlled device. A light bulb that will turn on when you ask it to. But it is much more than just that. It is also a multi-color light bulb that you can control from your smartphone. Change the light’s color, intensity and even program the light to turn on/off at certain times of the day

Where you buy: Amazon.com
Price: $35

                        

Christmas & Technology
As featured on Sloto Magazine

A couple decades ago, the holiday season could have been a very stressful time for many of us. We had to spend entire days in shopping centers, walking in and out of stores, to find the perfect (or the I-give-up-this-will-do) gift for family members and friends.

On Xmas day many people often receive a gift that is worth less than the money spent on it, only to be disposed after a few weeks or forgotten in some drawer.

Luckily, technology has made shopping much simpler. You don’t have to run around all day looking for gifts. Almost anything can be bought online. And to avoid giving unwanted gifts, sites like Amazon.com now offer a WishList, where users mark items they’d like to purchase.

This holiday season ask your friends and family to share their WishList with you, so you can be sure to get them something they really need or desire. You’ll save on gas with less driving around and have more time to cozy up at home with loved ones.

If you feel you already have enough of everything, ask your loved ones to donate to your favorite charity instead of spending on an unnecessary gift for you.  Most charity organizations take online donations, so just share their link with your friends and family. Your gift will be to make this a better world!