Santa Claus dead at 226 years old, newspaper in Norway reported

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Now, we are pretty sure some guys from Norway are making the naughty list this coming holiday.

Aftenposten, one of the most subscribed and biggest Norwegian newspapers, has recently published an obituary listing the death of one of the most beloved figures during Christmas season—none other than St. Nick himself a.k.a. Santa Claus.

The necrological announcement was made for "Father Christmas," which the newspaper said to have passed away in Nordkapp, in the northernmost region of Norway, on Dec. 3—just a few days away before celebrating his birthday on Dec. 12.

Santa Claus was born on Dec. 12, 1788, and would have been 227 years old this month. But, for some unknown reason, he just suddenly kicked the bucket according to the Aftenposten staff. There was even a scheduled burial ceremony to be held at the "North Pole Chapel" on Dec. 28, BBC reported.

And, here comes the not so unexpected twist. Apparently, the death notice turned out to be merely a hoax. And, before children around the world could unite and organize a global-scale revolt, the people behind the Norwegian newspaper have, probably, come to their senses and have immediately issued an apology to their readers about what they deemed as some blunder on their part.

Naturally, many people have expressed their disgust and cried foul over Aftenposten's not so amusing faux pas. The apologetic newspaper blamed the erratum to its internal procedures, the NY DailyNews wrote.

"An error in Aftenposten's internal procedures led to a fictional obituary of Santa Claus (being) published in our digital systems," Aftenposten said in a statement, translated from Norwegian. The newspaper also assured its readers that it upholds high standards when it comes to their work and that they would get to the bottom of this.

"Aftenposten has strict guidelines for both the content and use of symbols in our obituaries. This ad is a violation of these and should never have been published," the newspaper added. "We will find out what has happened." The symbol cited by Aftenposten that has been also included in Santa Claus' death notice was that of a crucifix, which is an important emblem for most Christians.

The newspaper has since removed the classified advertisement from its website immediately after it was made aware of the error. Now, children and young-at-hearts can rest assured that this coming Christmas holiday will be business as usual for the sled-riding crew and that the bespectacled, white-bearded guy is still coming to town.