Lily McNeil - Santa Claus: A History of Christmas Jolly CEO

Santa Claus is coming to town!

No matter your religion, if you live somewhere other than the depths of the Amazon rainforest, you have heard of a jolly older gentleman named Santa Claus (although it is possible that Santa Claus has reached those sultry depths by now). Or perhaps you know him by his aliases, Saint Nicholas or Father Christmas.

You may also know that Santa (hes on first name basis with his friends) lives at the North Pole with his wife, Mrs. Claus, and countless elves who build toys year-round to deliver to good children all over the world via reindeer-pulled sleigh. (If youve been bad, youll be lucky to receive a lump of coal rather than a birch switch) You can probably pick Santa out in a crowd: a bright red suit trimmed with white fur, impressive physical bulk (although considering all the treats and tipples he consumes, hes practically svelte), an splendid white mustache-beard combination that strikes a nostalgic chord.

But Santas image, cherished for years, is actually a composite of several traditions from different regions of the world. Look, were not saying that Santa isnt real (what is real , anyway?), but he certainly did not spring fully-formed from the ice packs in the North Pole, intent on bestowing upon you the latest iPad (you have been very good this year).

Santa has had quite a history and boasts quite the rsum : representing modern drink companies , living in medieval Italian cities, collecting funds for charity, and fulfilling the inventory for the wish lists of millions of children. He has been at the forefront of the so-called War on Christmas and served as a symbol of peace and goodwill, both domestically and overseas.

Like many of our rituals and traditions today, Santas legend is rooted in religion. But civilization has a way of adapting ancient folklore to societys modern needs, and Santa is no exception. Most of us dont fill our shoes with sugar lumps and carrots and put them under the chimney for Odins magnificent flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat as he leads his horseman through a great expedition across the sky; instead, we hang stockings. Most mall Santas dont wear bishops hats; their attire is red, not green. Rudolph and his iconic glowing nose debuted in Santas entourage a hundred years after the other eight reindeer.

But there are some fundamental elements of the Santa folklore that remain constant. The spirit of Christmas, a time of celebration, warmth, generosity, commercialism, and, thankfully, a little magic, are embodied in one iconic figure with a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly . Santa has had a colorful and sometimes controversial past: his modern image is part god, part saint, part political symbol, part salesman. Who knows how Santa will evolve (will he ever outsource his toy-making? Rig a jet-powered sleigh, perhaps? Employ the latest teleportation technology?), but hell always be a part of Christmas.

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Think Santa has always been a hefty, hirsute fellow in a red suit at Macys ? Think again.

Santas image as a older, bearded man originated in writings and visual depictions of Odin , the Norse god.

The pagan, Germanic peoples believed that during Yule, a pre-Christian holiday, Odin and his large hunting party flew through the sky. The Poetic Edda, a compilation of Old Norse poems committed to paper in Iceland in the 13th century, describe Odin riding on Sleipnir, his eight-legged flying horse . Through centuries (and the advent of Christianity), Sleipnir may have transmogrified into Santas eight reindeer, who can also cover great distances in the sky.

The image of Odin may have fused with that of a 3rd century monk named St. Nicholas .

St. Nicholas, who was b orn in Patara (now Myra in modern-day Turkey), was an exceptionally generous man . Revered for traveling throughout the country to aid the poor and ill, one of the most famous legends describes St. Nicholas rescuing three sisters from prostitution by providing marriage dowries. After the Protestant Reformation, when most saints were rejected, St. Nicholas retained the goodwill of the people, especially the Dutch.

In the Dutch tradition, Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas is accompanied by Black Peter (Zwarte Piet in Dutch; the spelling is roughly phonetic). Black Peter is the one in charge of the famous naughty or nice list, here in the form of a giant book. The history and continued depiction of Black Peter is controversial , as some consider the racial overtones and Peters slave origins to be offensive. As early as November, Sinterklaas and Black Peter take a boat from Spain to Holland. Over the next few weeks, Sinterklaas (like Odin, you will remember) flies through the sky, lands on rooftops, and delivers presents through the chimney (although he also had a tendency to come down chimneys during the solstice, Odin, sadly, does not deliver presents). Any naughty children get scooped up and beaten by Sinterklaass helpers.

But Sinterklaas is no Santa Claus. In Belgium and the Netherlands, Santa is a separate figure and does not deliver presents on Christmas Eve. Instead, he is known as Father Christmas who brings jollity and light revelry to the season.

A Father Christmas-like character, dressed in green, appears as the Ghost of Christmas Present in Charles Dickenss 1843 A Christmas Carol . He joins forces with the spirits of Christmas Past and Christmas Future to show Scrooge that, while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humor .

Santa Claus may get his heft from consuming all the midnight snacks offered by children all over the world. In North America, Santa is treated to milk and cookies . Santa can expect rice porridge in Sweden, and sherry and mince pies in England. Perhaps Santa should save Ireland for last, where a pint of Guinness often awaits with more mince pies to temper the intoxication.

Santas contemporary image red suit, fur trim, jaunty sleeping cap, borderline obesity was created by Haddon Sundblom and other artists at Coca-Cola . Their sketches were based on late 19th-century drawings by Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast . Nast depicted Santa bringing gifts to and boosting the morale of Northern Civil War soldiers.

Nast may have granted Santa Claus his North Pole address. In a 1866 edition of Harpers Weekly , Nast captioned a series of engravings Santa Claussville, N. P. Santa also gained weight under Nasts pen; originally, he was a tall, lean gentleman. Nast also created the Republican elephant, the Democratic donkey, and Uncle Sam.

Santa Claus remained a bachelor until 1889, when Katherine Lee Bates (who also penned America the Beautiful) conceived a Mrs. in her poem Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride . It appears that far from undertaking all the tasks himself, Santa has a very capable, and rightfully entitled, wife. Mrs. Claus asks,

Santa, wouldnt it be pleasant to surprise me with a present?

And this ride behind the reindeer is a boon your Goody begs;

Think how hard my extra work is, tending the Thanksgiving turkeys

And our flocks of rainbow chickens those that lay the Easter eggs.

Do not mess with Mrs. Claus.