The vintage Santa Claus figure first became popular with the Dutch people in the 16th century.  Santa only became more widely known and popular in the 19th century in the Americas.  The poem and traditional Santa Claus biography comes from Clement C. Moore’s “A Visit From St. Nicholas”, whichwas published in the New York Sentinel newspaper in 1823, on December 23.  Today, Santa Claus, North Pole, and reindeer are all important parts of the Christmas holiday.

Changing Views of Santa

During the beginning history of Santa Claus, Santa underwent many styles and colors.  The common red suite reached popularity when he was pictured in a card in 1885.  In 1863 Thomas Nast, a cartoonist of the 19th century, captured and immortalized Santa Clause with a picture issued in Harper’s Weekly on January 3, 1863.

Another entry into the Santa Claus biography, and part of the explanation of how he became more popular over the years, was found in a 1920 children’s book called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum.  This book suggested that the deer didn’t fly but rather they were able to leap gigantic miles and established that Santa was an immortal being.  The book then stated that Santa learned of the misery and the poor people of the world and wanted to bring them happiness.  More on the history of Santa Clause and his rise in popularity can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus


Santa as He is Found Today

The vintage Santa Claus was lost when the red suit was in essence “cemented” in Haddon Sundblom’s creation for the Coca-Cola™ cans as part of the company’s advertising campaign.  However, the Coca-Cola Company™ was not the first soda drink to use Santa Claus for advertising techniques.  White Rock Beverages™ pictured Santa on their water bottles in 1915 and again in 1923 for their ginger ale bottles.

Companies like the Salvation Army still advertise the new and vintage Santa Claus when Christmas comes along.  They do this through fundraising and charity campaigns across the world.  Many of these companies popularized Santa Claus because it was another way for Christians to tell their story to the world, even though some Christians are against the Santa Clause figure.  They also did this as a way to remember the real St. Nicholas’s deeds of generosity, love for children, and his robin hood-like style, just without the stealing.  Santa now is and forever will be one of the most known representations of Christmas.  Find out more on St. Nick here: http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/santa.asp.