By RAY CAVANAUGH
Long before the beloved icon of Santa Claus there was St. Nicholas, a fourth-century bishop in modern-day Turkey.
Known for his generosity to the less fortunate, the original St. Nicholas reportedly tossed bags of gold through an open window and into the residence of a family too poor to provide dowries for their three daughters, who — thanks to St. Nick’s surreptitious charity — were saved from a likely fate of prostitution.
The memory of St. Nicholas endured, and he became the patron saint of many things, including the nations of Greece and Russia. Even as far back as the Middle Ages, gifts were given in memory of Nicholas — typically on his feast day of December 6.
Though there was gift-giving, the St. Nicholas of that era was depicted as a thin, austere-looking man — a far cry from the hefty, red-cheeked, and jolly-looking Santa.
Early Dutch settlers brought their Christmas tradition of “Sinterklass” to America in the 17th century. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century when the modern image of the Santa Claus we all know was established and standardized.
One major contribution to the modern Santa was a poem, A Visit From St. Nicholas, which appeared anonymously in the December 23, 1823, edition of the Troy Sentinel newspaper in New York. In this poem (known better for its opening line: “Twas the night before Christmas”), Santa Claus comes to the speaker’s house by way of a “miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.” Emerging from his descent “down the chimney,” he appears “dress’d all in fur, from his head to his foot.”
This nighttime visitor has cheeks “like roses” and a “nose like a cherry,” along with a beard “white as the snow.” His “round belly” shakes “like a bowl full of jelly” when he laughs. And, of course, this “chubby,” “plump,” and “jolly” old character has a “bundle of toys flung on his back.”
Thirteen years after the poem’s first appearance, a literature professor named Clement Clarke Moore claimed authorship of this poem. Though he typically is credited with having written the poem, not everyone agrees on its authorship. Whoever actually wrote the piece, its description and images greatly influenced the modern Santa Claus.
By way of this poem: “Americans had discovered an enchanting character who would play an increasingly large part in their celebration of the holidays,” according to Gerry Bowler’s Santa Claus: A Biography. Bowler adds, however, that at this juncture the “full measure of [Santa’s] personality had yet to be explored.”
The Santa personality would be explored vividly by artist Thomas Nast, an American immigrant from Germany who — starting in January 1863 — drew over 30 Santa-themed illustrations for Harper’s Weekly magazine. He also is known for popularizing the symbols of the Republican Party elephant and the Democratic Party donkey.
Through such works as “Merry Old Santa,” Nast reinforced the gift-giver’s “outward joviality” and bestowed him with a “rapidly expanding girth,” as pointed out in Jeremy Seal’s book Nicholas: The Epic Journey From Saint to Santa Claus.
As heartening and wholesome as his Santa illustrations were, some of Nast’s non-Santa works were more controversial, such as “The American River Ganges,” which depicts Catholic bishops as crocodiles, and the “The Promised Land,” which depicts the Pope as seeking to conquer America.
Nast actually had been born a Catholic and — according to biographer Albert Paine — had attended parochial school in New York City. When exactly Nast split with the Church is unknown, but split he sure did. Apostasy aside, though, this artist set the modern standard for how Santa Claus should look.
In time, Santa — who had been given a wife, Mrs. Claus, at some point during the 1880s — was also being appropriated for commercial purposes and social causes.
An 1896 poem portrays a distressed Santa of the Temperance Movement who realizes that many children will have a subpar Christmas because: “Their papas have lost all their money/ And the rumsellers stole it.”
Meanwhile, the more upbeat Santa had entered the business arena. The 1890s saw commercial venues with Santas who interacted with visiting children and listened intently to their deepest material wishes.
By the early 1930s, Santa was adopted by Coca-Cola, which had been suffering a sales drought during the winter seasons, when people aren’t as thirsty. Working on Coca-Cola’s behalf, the artist Haddon Sundblom created a Santa every bit as joyous as the one created by Nast in the previous century.
In 1937, the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School was established in Albion, N.Y. Though other Santa schools since have surfaced, the Howard School remains the ultimate Santa institution and receives a steady flow of prospective Santas from department stores around the country.
Apparently, being benevolent and lovable requires formal training. Though the legacy of St. Nicholas clearly has been commercialized, his spirit of generosity and gift-giving endures to this day. And each Christmas sees countless children who approve.
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