Music: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
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Santa Claus
Immigrants to the New World brought their various beliefs with them when they crossed the Atlantic. The Scandinavians introduced gift giving elves,
the Germans brought decorated trees and the Irish brought the custom of placing a lighted candle in the window.
In the 1600's, the Dutch presented Sinterklaas
(St. Nicholas) to the colonies. After years of mispronunciation, the name evolved into Santa Claus.
Dr. Clement Clarke Moore wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1822. The poem, now a classic, is more commonly know as "The Night Before Christmas". It is Moore's description of Santa that we most often think of today: "He had a broad face, and a little round belly, that shook, when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly."
Up to this point, Santa's physical appearance and the color of his suit were open to individual interpretation. Then in 1863, Thomas Nast, a German immigrant, gave us the visual image of Santa that was to later become widely accepted.
Artist Haddon Sundblom added the final touches to Santa's modern image. Beginning in 1931, his billboard and other advertisements for Coca Cola-Cola featured a portly, grandfatherly Santa with human proportions and a ruddy complexion. Sundblom's exuberant, twinkle-eyed Santa firmly fixed the gift-giver's image in the public mind.
