Santa Claus’ history has always been rooted in kindness

Throughout the last 200 years, several distinctive elements have come together to create the image of the Santa Claus children wait for each Christmas Eve.

Clement Clarke Moore, an American minister, writer and scholar, is the acclaimed author of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” or more commonly known “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Many of Santa’s features in his poem that first appeared in print in the 1830s continue to create illusions to this day.

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Drawing upon Moore’s story, Thomas Nast, a well-known cartoonist in the mid-19th century, began to draw Santa Claus in a red suit with a long pipe and big grin during the Civil War. Ironically, his drawings were more politically-based than holiday treats.

It really took the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” in 1947 to fortify our image of Santa Claus. The movie tells the story of a man hired to be Santa at a Macy’s department store in New York City who claimed he was the real Santa. He was jolly, happy and wanted to bring the spirit and magic of Christmas to all children.

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The real story of Santa Claus, however, stretches back to the 3rd century when a man — St. Nicholas — became the patron saint of children.

A monk named St. Nicholas is believed to have been born about 280 A.D. in what today is Turkey. Historians say he was admired for his kindness and piety. He gave away his own inherited wealth and traveled across the land helping the poor and sick. St. Nicholas gradually became the subject of legends, and his popularity spread, according to various accounts.

Becoming an early Christian bishop, St. Nicholas became known for his habit of secret gift-giving, which has given rise to today’s model of Santa Claus and the gifts he brings to children.

His popularity spread, and St. Nicholas became known as the protector of children. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, Dec. 6.

Two stories come down through the ages about St. Nicholas. He reportedly saved three daughters from slavery and prostitution when their father could not arrange marriages because of a lack of dowries. Realizing the girls’ plight, he secretly gave money to the family.

Later, he is also credited with saving three men from death by intervening at their execution.

The memory of St. Nicholas is celebrated today as the patron also of sailors, fishermen, ships and sailing. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates him for at least seven feast days annually, including his death anniversary on Dec. 6. The church also established the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kuopio, Finland.

Even after the Protestant Reformation, St. Nicholas’ reputation continued above reproach, especially in the Netherlands, where the legendary figure, Sinterklaas, is based on St. Nicholas.

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It was Sinterklaas who first appeared in popular American culture and not Santa. Newspapers reported in 1773 and 1774 in New York that Dutch families gathered around Dec. 6 to honor St. Nicholas. Sinterklaas, it is believed, gradually evolved into the name Santa Claus. But again, this is part of the legend.

The tradition of gift-giving around the Christmas holiday became an important part of the holiday when it was rejuvenated in the early 19th century. According to historians, stores began to advertise Christmas shopping about 1820. Newspapers by the 1840s began to develop special sections to carry the many Yuletide advertisements.

The first department store Santa appeared in December 1890 in Brockton, Massachusetts, when James Edgar dressed up in a red suit and became St. Nicholas in the department store that he operated. The next year, children came from throughout the state to see Edgar’s Santa.

Soon, other department stores had their own Santas, and by the turn of the 20th century, Santa was a regular holiday feature. Probably the best known department store Santa was featured in Macy’s “Miracle on 34th Street.” To heighten the image, Santa appeared in the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, and his float has concluded the parade ever since.

Beginning in the late 1880s, the Salvation Army decided to use Santa Claus to raise money to feed thousands of San Francisco’s poorest children. Salvation Army Capt. Joseph McFee felt he needed help to raise money. At first, he merely used a red kettle with the slogan “Fill the Pot for the Poor — Free Dinner on Christmas Day,” according to historian Diane Winston.

Gradually, volunteers were dressed up as Santa in red outfits, working the kettles and ringing bells, especially in New York City. Today, as many as 25,000 kettles are managed by volunteers, many still wearing Santa suits. Records indicate that in 2018 more than $142 million was raised through the charity’s bell-ringing holiday effort.

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In 1931, The Coca-Cola Co. decided to use Santa in its national advertising and commissioned Michigan illustrator Haddon Sundblom to paint the jolly old elf for its holiday advertisements. Sundblom said he drew inspiration from Moore’s poem and Nast’s cartoons and depicted Santa in a red suit with white trim — which just happened to be the corporate colors of Coca-Cola.

The result was a “wholesome” Santa who enjoyed drinking a Coke. Annually, until 1966, Sundblom created various paintings for the ads. Soon, the soft drink brand and Santa were known hand-in-hand as part of holiday symbols.

Wilford Kale, kalehouse@aol.com