Santa Barbara

Santa Bárbara or Santa Barbara, (meaning Saint Barbara in several Romance languages), was an early Christian saint and martyr.

Santa Bárbara or Santa Barbara may also refer to:

Places and jurisdictions

Americas

Santa Claus

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Santy, or simply Santa is a mythical figure with historical origins who, in many Western cultures, brings gifts to the homes of well-behaved, "good" children on Christmas Eve (24 December) and the early morning hours of Christmas Day (25 December). The modern Santa Claus is derived from the British figure of Father Christmas, the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, and Saint Nicholas, the historical Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra. During the Christianization of Germanic Europe, this figure may also have absorbed elements of the god Odin, who was associated with the Germanic pagan midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky.

Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white-bearded man—sometimes with spectacles—wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and who carries a bag full of gifts for children. Images of him rarely have a beard with no moustache. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books and films.

Barbara

Barbara may refer to:

People

Places

Drama, film, and literature

Film

Print

Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is a county located in the southern portion of the state of California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.

Santa Barbara County comprises the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the county is part of the California Central Coast. Mainstays of the county's economy include engineering, resource extraction (particularly petroleum extraction and diatomaceous earth mining), winemaking, agriculture, and education. The software development and tourism industries are important employers in the southern part of the county.

Southern Santa Barbara County is sometimes considered the northern cultural boundary of Southern California.

History

The Santa Barbara County area, including the Northern Channel Islands, was first settled by Native Americans at least 13,000 years ago. Evidence for a Paleoindian presence has been found in the form of a fluted Clovis-like point found in the 1980s along the western Santa Barbara Coast, as well as the remains of Arlington Springs Man found on Santa Rosa Island in the 1960s. For thousands of years, the area was home to the Chumash tribe of Native Americans, complex hunter-gatherers who lived along the coast and in interior valleys leaving rock art in many locations including Painted Cave.

Santa Barbara Zoo

The Santa Barbara Zoo is located on 30 acres (12 ha) near the ocean in Santa Barbara, California. It was built on the site of what was known as the Child Estate. The zoo has been ranked numerous times as one of the nation's best small zoos. It has more than 500 animals in numerous exhibits, including capybara and California condors, and is famous for having had a giraffe with a crooked neck. It also features a few non-animal attractions, such as the 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge Zoo Train, complete with a pair of Chance Rides C.P. Huntington locomotives. The zoo first opened in August 1963.

Exhibits

Cats of Africa, which features African lions and black-footed cats, opened in 2003. Built on a hillside, the area's black-footed cat exhibit is at the top of the slope, with the lion exhibit on the slope itself. The lions are visible from a platform near the black-footed cat exhibit.

The Forest's Edge houses two male western lowland gorillas. The exhibit opened in 1996 and has a glass-walled viewing area as well as an overlook from a replica ranger station.