A Brief History of Santa Claus
13th Century
Santa Claus is a name rooted in the informal name for Saint Nicholas, SinterKlaas. St. Nicholas was a Greek saint who had a reputation for secretly giving out gifts. Most famously he’d leave coins in shoes that were left out for him
17th Century
Another thing that contributed to the image of Santa Claus was the idea of Father Christmas. Father Christmas is a traditional figure in English folklore, typically represented by the spirit of good cheer. However, Father Christmas was not associated with children or gift-giving.
1809
Washington Irving wrote Knickerbocker's History of New York—published in 1809. His book, almost completely by itself, established Santa Claus in America by presenting him as an existing Dutch symbol. There are no pictures with the book but it does have visual descriptions. Some of these descriptions include a mysterious man who uses a flying sleigh, smokes a pipe, and often places a finger beside his nose.
1810
The New York Historical Society hosted its first St. Nicholas anniversary dinner on December 6th, 1819. They commissioned Alexander Anderson to draw an image of St. Nicholas to be handed out at the dinner. The artwork showed the Saint giving gifts in stockings. This was seen as rewarding the goodness of children.
1843
In an Illustration from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol the art of the Ghost of Christmas Present is a young figure who wears a robe similar to the one we see modern-day Santa wearing, though the robe is green. The story was very successful so it wouldn’t be a surprise if this artwork impacted artists who later defined the idea of what Santa Claus looks like.
1882
Thomas Nast is the first American artist to play a role in the representation of Santa Claus. His first iteration of Santa Claus was political. Santa arrived on Christmas furlough instead of Christmas eve and his coat had stars and stripes. Twenty years later in 1882, Thomas Nast drew an image that was a definitive portrait of Santa. In the art, Santa Claus is seen as a large, bearded man that wears a fursuit with toys.
1902
The author of The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, wrote The Life and Adventure of Santa Claus. This story elaborated and added detail that helped popularize the story and look of the character Santa Claus.
1922
Another step in securing the character of Santa was a poem called A Visit from St. Nicholas. It was written by Clement Moore, the story was later known as The Night Before Christmas. He drew inspiration from Irving’s description Pintard's New Amsterdam traditions to create the saint that rides on a sleigh and names for the Saints flying reindeer
1964
Coca-Cola started to use the image of Santa Claus in advertisements in the 1920s. The commercial’s use of Santa helped secure him a place in our thoughts and traditions associated with Christmas. The earlier iterations of Santa Claus used by the company made him seem stiff and rigid. There was a lack of Christmas spirit, but when the Coca-Cola Company hired Haddon Sundblom to create illustrations of Santa Claus, he portrayed the man with rosy cheeks and a round belly. He played with toys he had delivered and hugged children who had stayed up to see him. He also added a long white beard to the man, a white fur trim to the man’s red coat, a leather belt and large boots. His version of Santa made his debut in 1931. Sundblom continued to make illustrations of Santa for the company and his final version was made in 1964. Over time Haddon Sundblom’s iteration of Santa became the somewhat official look of Santa Claus.
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