Santa Claus

HISTORY

Although the characters "Santa Claus" and "Father Christmas" have for most practical purposes been merged, historically the characters have different origins and are not identical.

Santa Claus portrayed by children's tv producer Jonathan Meath. By Jonathan G Meath 

First recorded in Tudor England and pre-dating the first recording of Santa Claus, Father Christmas was a jolly well nourished man who typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry.

A similar figure with the same name (in translation) exists in many other countries, including Canada and France (Père Noël), Spain (Papá Noel, Padre Noel) and almost all Hispanic South America (Papá Noel).

The 17th century Dutch settlers version of Santa Claus was tall, slender, dignified and most importantly, beard-less.

The American version of the tradition, Santa Claus, is derived from Bishop Nicholas of Myra who died in Asia Minor aged 73 on December 6, 343. Among his other attributes, Nicholas was noted for his care of children, generosity and the giving of gifts. He was accompanied by helpers, and inquired about the behaviour of children during the past year before deciding if they deserved gifts or not. The church and legend transformed him into jolly old Saint Nicholas.

13th-century depiction of St. Nicholas from Saint Catherine's Monastery, Sinai

The familiar image of Santa Claus with flying reindeer and entry down chimneys, began in America with poetry. On December 23, 1822, Dr Clement Clarke Moore, a university professor, wrote a poem for his children. He called it "A Visit from St. Nicholas." The work was never meant for publication, for he feared he would be ridiculed for writing children's verse. A friend, however, sent a copy to a newspaper and very soon the poem became famous across the United States.

At first Santa Claus was drawn in his bishop robes, but with possible influences from the earlier English figure of Father Christmas. German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast's image of him, based on the traditional German figures of Sankt Nikolaus and Weihnachtsmann began the journey towards today's image of him as a portly, joyous, white-bearded man.

Nast's Santa Claus on the cover of the January 3, 1863, issue of Harper's Weekly

By the 1880's Santa Claus had evolved into the robed, fur clad form we now recognize.

In 1890, the first department store Santa appeared—James Edgar, a store owner, brought joy to his patrons by dressing up as the character.

 Man dressed as Santa Claus fundraisingt in Chicago in 1902, 

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is the title of a famous editorial that appeared in The New York Sun on September 21, 1897. The editorial was written by Francis Pharcellus Church, a veteran newspaper editor and reporter. He wrote it in response to a letter sent to The New York Sun by 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon where she asked whether Santa Claus truly existed, as some of her friends had told her otherwise. Church's response sought to reassure her and capture the spirit of Christmas.

Since its initial publication in the New York Sun on September 21, 1897, the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial has been reprinted countless times. The New York Sun itself regularly republished it during the Christmas season until their closure in 1950. Other newspapers and publications have followed suit, making it a staple of holiday reading for generations. It is widely considered the most reprinted editorial in the English language.

Until the 1930s, depictions of Santa Claus had him wearing a green cloak. Santa Claus as we know him today, with white beard, red tunic, hat and trousers trimmed with white fur, was created by an American commercial artist, Haddon Sundblom for a 1931 Coca-Cola advertisement.

The Coca Cola American adverts portrayed Santa in a red suit because that was the color they used for their ads.

When Coca-Cola created the modern image of Santa Claus in their advertisements, Santa was depicted without a wedding ring, causing fans to write to the drinks company asking whether he was still married to Mrs. Claus.

Shirley Temple stopped believing in Santa at the age of 6 after her mother took her to see him in a department store and he asked for her autograph.

Leaving cookies and milk for Santa started to become popular in the U.S during the Great Depression. Parents wanted to teach their children it was better to give and to be grateful for presents they received during times of economic hardship.

The Charles W Howard Santa School, Michigan is the world’s oldest Santa school. It began in 1937.

In 1974, staff at Canada Post's Montreal office were noticing a considerable number of letters addressed to Santa Claus entering the postal system, and those missives were being treated as undeliverable. They created the H0H 0H0 ("ho ho ho") postcode and started responding to children's previously unanswered letters. Now they answer one million letters per year, many of them originating from outside Canada, in the letter's native language.

In 2009, a man dressed as Santa Claus robbed a bank in Tennessee: he claimed he needed money to 'pay his elves'.

Lloyd's of London issued in 2010 the first insurance policy to protect Santa Claus. The policy covered Santa until December 25th in the event of accident and illness, in the run up to and during his worldwide travels to deliver presents to good children.

FUN SANTA FACTS

In the Marvel comics Santa Claus is actually the world's most powerful mutant ever registered by the X-Men.

Santa has his own postal code – HOH OHO – in Canada.

There is a Santa Claus museum in Columbus, Texas.

The Santa Claus Museum in Columbus, Texas

Since 1937, hundreds of Santas a year have attended the Santa School in Michigan, with curriculum including Santa history, sign language, handling difficult present requests, sleigh flight lessons, and the habits of live reindeer.

Santa was number one on Forbes list of the world's richest fictional people with an infinite wealth to give children.

While American children famously leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus, Irish kids put out mince pies and a bottle of Guinness.

Instead of Santa Claus, Dutch children wait for “Sinterklaas” and his helper Black Pete on December 6. If the kids left shoes filled with hay and sugar for Sinterklaas’ horse, he will refill the shoes with candy and nuts.

Sinterklaas arriving in the Dutch town of Schiedam in 2009. By Sander van der Wel 

 In China, Santa Claus is often depicted with a saxophone and no-one seems to know why.

Santa Claus received 670 votes in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.