With his red suit, chubby belly, white beard and reindeer, Santa Claus is one of the essential figures of the festive season. Although he is helped by his little elves to make the toys, and lives - according to many - in Lapland, not much else is known about him. So who is he? Where does the story of Santa Claus come from, and why does he dress in red? Here are some answers.
Like many other traditions, we have to go back a long way to understand the origins of Santa Claus. Let's stop at the end of the 3rd century, when Nicholas of Myre, aka St. Nicholas, the protector of children, lived. Since his death on December 6, several countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, as well as eastern France, have celebrated St. Nicholas Day on the day of his death. So, every December 6, well-behaved children receive sweets and other gifts. The story of Santa Claus has its origins in that of St. Nicholas, already recognizable by his white beard and the red lining of his coat.
But it wasn't until the 19th century that Santa Claus really appeared as we know him today. At that time, the Dutch imported the tradition of St. Nicholas when they emigrated across the Atlantic. Sinter Klaas (Dutch for St. Nicholas) gave birth to Santa Claus in the United States. Believing that the distribution of gifts to children should be associated with the birth of the Christ child, Christian families later instigated the traditional arrival of Santa Claus on the night of December 24-25.
The story of Santa Claus continued to unfold when, in 1823, a story by Clement Clarke Moore was published in the New York newspaper Sentinel. Entitled " The Visit of St. Nicholas ", it recounted the distribution of gifts using a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer.
But where's Coca-Cola in all this, you might ask? Because, yes, there are those who remember that the famous American soda brand took credit for the visual creation of the red-clad Santa Claus as we know him today. Before Coca-Cola, other artists had already thought of designing a Santa Claus dressed in red. But the one created by American Haddon Sundblom, to boost the soda brand's sales at the height of the winter season, caused a sensation. Dressed in the brand's colors and drinking Coca-Cola in between handing out presents, this revisited Santa Claus is now a household name.
Discover also the origins of the Christmas tree.
