Why Santa Looks That Way

The image we know as Santa Claus came from a 19th century poem and a 20th century advertising campaign.  

Henry Livingston Jr. wrote “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.” Published in 1823, it’s commonly known by the first line of the poem, “Twas the Night before Christmas.” Livingston described a magical elf who traveled in a sleigh with a team of eight flying reindeer. In the poem, St. Nicholas’ use of a sack to carry toys is mentioned. The flying sleigh and a sack of toys stayed part of the iconic Christmas figure. 

The elf, who later used the name Santa Claus, had a broad face and a round belly. He dressed in fur from head to foot. Santas everywhere were depicted wearing red clothes many years later.

The Coca-Cola Co. solidified the image of a red-suited, jolly man during an advertising campaign that started in 1923. Artists painted a thin, unsmiling Santa to advertise the company’s soft drink. This image lasted until 1930.

Haddon Sundbloom painted an image of a friendly Santa Claus in 1931. That image of a red-suited, jolly man wearing black boots has been the accepted view of how Santa Claus looks for more than 80 years. Showing him enjoying a Coca-Cola sold many millions of dollars of soft drinks for the company.

Sundbloom drew Santa in numerous company advertisements until 1964. The Coca-Cola company holds a trademark for the Santa image. While that particular image of Santa Claus has been trademarked, the names Santa Claus and St. Nicholas are in public domain.

The name “Santa Claus” goes back to St. Nicholas who was a bishop born about 280 A.D. He was canonized as a saint for his lifetime of piety and kindnesses to the poor. The name Santa Claus came from St. Nicholas’s nickname Sinter Klass. That is what Dutch children call him.

An 1804 gathering of the New York Historical Society helped cement the images of Santa and Christmas. The society distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas during an annual meeting. The background of the engraving contained familiar images of Santa. It included depictions of stockings hung over a fireplace. Toys and fruits filled the stockings.

During the early 19th century, gift-giving became a popular part of the Christmas celebration. Stores began to advertise shopping specials to attract customers into their businesses. By the middle of the 1800s, newspapers created separate sections for holiday advertisements that often featured images of Santa Claus. It was the beginning of the commercialization of Christmas.

Gift-giving extended to the many charities in need of money. The Salvation Army saw an opportunity to get money for their work in helping needy families. Unemployed men were dressed in Santa suits and placed on New York street corners to solicit contributions. The red kettles and constant bell ringers began. Now the red-suited ringers are in all cities and shopping centers.

The image of Santa Claus began evolving as far back as the third century. The change of Christmas to a time of gift-giving plus a push from commercialism led to what we know today as the jolly old elf.

Thank you for reading this blog. Look for my website at www.joevlatino.com where you can see information about my book of short stories, “The Device.”