Story of Santa Claus

Since the first tales of Santa Claus were told to children in the 1600’s, the jolly old saint has seen a lot of evolution, both in character and appearance. One thing that has always remained a constant in this ever changing enigma has been the Magic of the Christmas Spirit.

Our goal is to capture and preserve that Spirit of Christmas and renew the warmth and emotions that we all experienced as eager eyed children who couldn't wait for the annual arrival of Santa Claus. We want to make sure Santa Claus remains something greater than a fictional gift giving character. Santa Clause is more than that. He is a distinct part of our heritage and embodies the warmth and comfort of the Christmas season. Santa Claus is Faith and Imagination; representing the innocence of our childhood, when we were not afraid to believe in things we had never seen. He represents a time of our lives where we were free from the problems and doubts we experience as adults, a time where our possibilities were unlimited and our faith knew no boundaries. Santa Claus brings out the childlike innocence in all of us by showing us the caring, selfless giving and thoughtfulness which we wish we could imitate and teach to our children. Because Santa Claus means so many important things to so many people, the team at phonegreetings.com is very careful to represent him properly. We want to share with you, the many ways the legend and lore of Santa Claus has changed over the years and prove without a doubt that Santa Claus is still alive and well after all these years. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the journey through time as you discover the stories behind the man we have all wished to meet… Santa Claus

The traditional view of Santa Claus was inspired by the early Dutch settlers who arrived in Manhattan on Christmas Day in the year, 1624. They brought with them a belief in a very special Dutch saint, Sinterklaas, who they declared to be the patron saint of their new home. In their native country of Holland, Sinterklaas, whose name was later altered several times before being changed to Santa Claus, was depicted as wearing red robes and riding a white horse as he delivered goodies from his bag of gifts, filling the stockings of well behaved children with presents. In the Dutch lore, Sinterklass had an assistant on his mission called Black Pete. Black Pete, however, had a far different mission from that of Sinterklass. Skulking through the night of Christmas Eve, Black Pete went ahead of Sinterklaas to seek out the naughty children of Holland who would not be receiving gifts from Sinterklass. When Sinterklass' legend was brought to America, poor Black Pete was left behind in Holland. By the late 1600s and well into the 1700s, Sinterklaas would see the first evolution of his name, becoming Sancte Clause, and his arrival on Christmas Eve, December 24, became a highly anticipated event for American children.

For almost a century, Santa Claus saw very little change until the early 1800's when the character we all know began to emerge as writers and artists created depictions of Santa Claus as an amicable, jolly, old fellow, who, despite his small stature was blessed with an enormously generous heart. As before, Santa Claus would arrive on Christmas Eve but, by now, he had exchanged his white steed for a magnificent flying sleigh that was conveyed along by eight flying reindeer. As he took this wonderful flight over the treetops and roofs, Santa Claus would deliver gifts to the good children by dropping the presents down the chimneys of their homes.

At some point in the early 1820’s, Clement Moore offered a new description of the jolly Saint Nicholas. Mr. Moore describes Santa Claus outfit as a fur hat and suit. He went on to portray Santa with rosy, dimpled cheeks and a red cherry nose on his broad face. The droll little mouth and snowy white beard completed the look for the chubby St Nicholas, who was depicted as having a round belly that shook like a bowlful of jelly. In creating his description of Santa Claus, Moore established the imagery of Santa that the majority of people recognize today. Before this time, Santa's physical appearance and suit seemed to have the magical power of changing constantly as these details were often left to individual interpretations of the story tellers. Another first, Clement Moore gave us the names that have become the monikers of Santa's reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

The year 1821 brought the world the first pictures of Santa Claus in the illustrations that accompanied the poem, “The Children’s Friend, A New-Year’s Present to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve”. These early images of Santa were published as eight color lithographs. One of these lithographs showed the beloved Santa Claus dressed in a red suit that was unlike anything an American of the time might be wearing and was completely different from the past flowing robes of Saint Nicolas.

In 1837, Robert Weir painted the first American portrait of Santa Claus while working as an art teacher at West Point. The Weir Santa is adorned in a stocking hat and short suit as he prepares to climb into a chimney with an overflowing sack of Christmas gifts, taken straight from the imagery of Moore‘s poem. To complete the ensemble, Weir added a long clay pipe and a red cape edged in fur to his character.

Santa's little helpers, the elves, appeared for the first time in 1856. Their presence was made known by an unpublished book, “Christmas Elves.” It then became part of the Christmas lore that Santa relied on these helpful elves to spend long hours creating the gifts he delivered on Christmas. Surrounding Santa Claus, the elves turned their polar workshop into a place to manufacture the Christmas toys. The notion of Christmas elves gained in popularity and Godey’s Magazine began to incorporate the elves into their engravings described below of the scene.

Santa Claus gained some real world charm and personality in 1863 when an illustration drawn by Thomas Nast gave Americans their first look into the life of Santa Claus. Over the next twenty-three years, Mr.Nast offered a new drawing of Santa Claus in Harpers Weekly magazine every Christmas. Americans were finally able to peek into Santa's magical domain and see the jolly old saint reading letters from children, making lists and building toys with the assistance of the elves. When Nast was chosen to create the illustrations for Moore's poem, to be included in a book of children's poetry, he showed the world a softer and kinder Santa Claus, who still conveyed the imagery of being very old but lacked the stern quality that the former depictions of St. Nicholas had portrayed. Dressed in a red and white suit and hat, Santa presided over the holiday cheer. The elves, dressed in red outfits, were also given human characteristics to make them more believable characters . Perhaps the greatest contribution Thomas Nast made to the Santa Claus legend was that he finally gave the world an answer to the question "Where does Santa Claus live?". Nast shared with the world that Santa has a warm and magical home and workshop at the North Pole.

When the December 1867 issue of Godey’s magazine was published, it sported an engraving of a bearded older gentleman wearing a long tunic suit. In one hand, the man grasped a staff, and with the other hand, he offered a doll to a crowd of children. In 1868 the Christmas issue of Godey's offered an instructional article on creating pine cone Santa's in the craft section. The engraving in 1868 portrayed Santa with a full bag of toys, apples and nuts for gift giving. He was also carrying a Christmas tree, a birch staff and a wooden nutcracker. In 1873, Godey's offered a new engraving of Santa Claus, working in his workshop while surrounded by helpful elves, creating Christmas toys for the children of the world. The Christmas issue of 1878 brought yet another look into Santa's world with an engraving titled “Welcome, Kriss Kringle. Come In”. This illustration depicted Santa in a flowing robe, sporting a long white beard and hair, as well as a tall peaked hat.

The legend of Santa's magical abode in the North Pole was further enhanced in 1927, when Markus Rautio announced to the audience of his popular children’s show that Santa and his elvish assistants lived in Lapland's Korvatunturi, an interesting geographical region where the landscape bears a remarkable resemblance to a humongous ear. This location was chosen by Santa because he can listen to find out if the children are being naughty or nice according to Mr. Rautio. The announcement was delivered as a warning to all boys and girls, letting them know that Santa was listening and making his list of stops before his reindeer powered sleigh ride on Christmas eve.

In 1931, Santa had one more rebirth that has given us the character we know today. This occurred when Coca-Cola decided to feature Santa Claus in advertisements on billboards and other media. The Coca-Cola Santa was depicted as a portly, grandfather type with human proportions and a ruddy complexion. Sunblom's exuberant, twinkle-eyed portrayal of Santa Claus gave the world a heartwarming image that has remained indelible in the public eye. In these pictures, Santa is shown as a life size figure with the cheerful spirit of an elf. The imagery relies heavily on Clement Moore's physical description with the addition of a red suit, trimmed with white fur and black boots giving us the image of Santa Claus that we recognize today.

Over the years, Saint Nicholas has developed into a larger-than-life character by the blending of countless beliefs and practices from around the globe. Working with his elves all year long to build toys, on Christmas Eve, the jolly Santa Claus puts on his famous suit and black boots, for a sleigh ride. Conveyed by the strength of eight reindeer, the gift giving Saint Nicholas visits the homes of all the good boys and girls of the world. This portrayal has made Santa Claus the embodiment of all the goodness, charity and innocence that is part of childhood.

Children around the world wait anxiously for the arrival of Santa on Christmas Eve, a fact that has made Christmas Eve the most anticipated event of the Christmas holiday season. The Americanized version of Santa, as a jolly bearded fellow in a red suit and hat, has spread throughout the world and become a globally recognized symbol for love, caring, and gift giving throughout the Christmas season.