[Well, even though Kayneth is in a generally foul mood because of fourth wall shenanigans and doesn't feel like speaking to anyone until he can be sure it will go over well...
...he has to admit, he has just enough composure to go into smug myth nerd jerk mode
he is a professor and it has been too long, enjoy your tl;dr]
It all depends on what iteration of "Santa Claus" you're talking about really. The modern over-commercialized conception... well, there's no way that person could exist outside of some ridiculous parallel universe. Given some of the things I've seen here, that really wouldn't surprise me, but I highly doubt he currently exists in my world. It would take the sort of magic that hasn't been present in my world for centuries to accomplish everything that's commonly attributed to that person.
There are, however, figures from my world who effectively served as his inspiration. There are many myths and legends surrounding Christian saints, and one in particular-Saint Nicholas-has been traditionally held to give gifts to children around Christmas. Of course, it's difficult to say if he truly fulfilled the role that Santa Claus traditionally does-more myths are true than one would expect, but it's also likely that it's simply an instance where aspects of a pagan religion were applied to a Christian saint, as this depiction of Saint Nicholas shares many characteristics with the Norse god Odin.
...So, I suppose you could say that someone with the characteristics of Santa Claus may have existed at some point in the past, but he almost certainly doesn't now.
[in before a fate/ spinoff happens featuring a rider class servant whose true identity is santa claus]
[video]
...he has to admit, he has just enough composure to go into smug myth nerd jerk mode
he is a professor and it has been too long, enjoy your tl;dr]
It all depends on what iteration of "Santa Claus" you're talking about really. The modern over-commercialized conception... well, there's no way that person could exist outside of some ridiculous parallel universe. Given some of the things I've seen here, that really wouldn't surprise me, but I highly doubt he currently exists in my world. It would take the sort of magic that hasn't been present in my world for centuries to accomplish everything that's commonly attributed to that person.
There are, however, figures from my world who effectively served as his inspiration. There are many myths and legends surrounding Christian saints, and one in particular-Saint Nicholas-has been traditionally held to give gifts to children around Christmas. Of course, it's difficult to say if he truly fulfilled the role that Santa Claus traditionally does-more myths are true than one would expect, but it's also likely that it's simply an instance where aspects of a pagan religion were applied to a Christian saint, as this depiction of Saint Nicholas shares many characteristics with the Norse god Odin.
...So, I suppose you could say that someone with the characteristics of Santa Claus may have existed at some point in the past, but he almost certainly doesn't now.
[in before a fate/ spinoff happens featuring a rider class servant whose true identity is santa claus]