For the first time in almost 1700 years, scientists have revealed the real face of Santa Claus. Photo

For the first time in almost 1700 years, the true face of Santa Claus has been revealed. Scientists have reconstructed the man's likeness from his skull.

The lead author of the new study, Cicero Moraes, a Brazilian 3D designer specializing in forensic reconstruction, said that he found a "strong and gentle face". He also added that the reconstruction coincided with the "broad face" described in the 1823 poem "The Visit of St. Nicholas," the DailyMail reports.

St. Nicholas of Myra was an early Christian saint who secretly delivered gifts to poor children. His reputation inspired the Dutch folk figure Sinterklaas, who later became Santa Claus in the United States.

However, no paintings of St. Nicholas have survived from his lifetime, and most depictions of "Old St. Nick" date from centuries after he died in 343 AD.

However, experts forensically reconstructed his features using the skull. "The skull has a very robust appearance, creating a strong face as it is larger than average in the horizontal axis. This characteristic, combined with the thick beard, is very similar to the figure we have in mind when we think of Santa Claus," said Cicero Moraes, author of the new study.

Interestingly, the reconstruction coincided with the description of St. Nicholas that can be read in the poem. "The image of Santa Claus as we know it today is based on an illustration by Thomas Nast for Harper's Weekly magazine in early 1863, which was inspired by the description in the 1823 poem "The Visit of St. Nicholas," Moraes said.

According to the researchers, this poem has given rise to many popular representations of the Santa Claus figure known today, including his rosy cheeks, reindeer, sleigh, bag of toys, and "wide face."

To create Santa's face, Cicero Moraes and his team used data collected in the 1950s by Luigi Martino with permission from Centro Studi Nicolaiani.

"We first reconstructed the skull in 3D using this data. Then we traced the profile using statistical predictions. This was complemented by the anatomical deformation technique when the tomography of a living person's head is adjusted so that the skull of a virtual donor matches the skull of a saint. The final stage is an interpolation of all this information to achieve anatomical and statistical consistency," explained the Brazilian 3D designer.

The experts ended up with two sets of images: one objective in shades of gray, and the other more artistic, with elements such as a beard and clothes inspired by St. Nicholas' iconography.

Interestingly, the researchers were able to learn about the miracle worker's illness. "He must have suffered from severe chronic arthritis in his spine and pelvis. His skull showed bone thickening, which could have caused frequent headaches," said Cicero Moraes.

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