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Although the jolly man in the white beard and red suit has evolved over the
centuries, he has always embodied the spirit of joy and giving. The name
and person of "Santa Claus" is thought to have been derived from a 4th
century bishop of Myra in Asia Minor (now Turkey) named Saint Nicholas. As
legend has it, Nicholas loved children and often anonymously tossed gifts
to them down chimneys or through open windows. During his life, Nicholas
was attributed with performing various miracles, including halting a storm
to save ships at sea and bringing several children back to life.
After his death, he became the patron saint of orphans, children and
sailors. His popularity grew after the 11th century when Italian soldiers
carried his remains to Bari where they built a church in his honor. In
Europe during the 12th century, Saint Nicholas Day (December 6) became a day
of gift giving and charity. On this day, children would hang their stockings beside
chimneys or place their shoes on hearths to awaken in the morning and find
that Saint Nicholas had filled them with nuts, candy, fruit and small
gifts. (In some Scandinavian cultures, St. Nick was accompanied by a
side-kick named "Black Peter" who would leave switches and lumps of coal
for children who had misbehaved during the year.)
The legacy of St. Nicholas or "Sinterklaas" was brought to the United
States by Dutch emigrants in the 1700s. He became the patron saint of New
York and was mentioned in Washington Irving's book The History of New
York. But it wasn't until 1822 when Dr. Clement Clarke Moore published a
Christmas poem entitled "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" (more
popularly known today as "The Night Before Christmas") that the "jolly old
elf" gained national fame. Later, in 1863, political cartoonist Thomas
Nast used Moore's poem as a basis for a cartoon he drew for Harper's
Weekly, depicting a fat, happy Santa resplendent in a red suit trimmed with
fur, holding a sack filled with toys. (The image was so popular that
President Lincoln requested that Nast create a drawing of his Santa with
some Union soldiers.) Then in 1931, illustrator Haddon Sundblom refined
Santa's look for his famous advertisements for Coca Cola giving us the
wonderful rich image of the man we know today as Santa Claus.
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