So, how did a Catholic Saint become a jolly old Elf with a long white beard and a red coat? Santa Claus, Saint Nick, Kriss Kringle, Sinterklaas, what do they all have to do with eachother? Let’s find out!
Nicholas of Myra is said to have been born in 270AD, in Anatolia in modern day Turkey. Whether or not he actually existed is a matter of debate, as period sources are scant and most tales of his life were written hundreds of years after his death. The debate of whether he was a real person, however, is beyond the scope of this tale.
Nicholas was a Bishop, a man who’s parents died when he was young and left him orphaned and wealthy. The most famous tale concerning him is that of Nicholas is a secret gift-giver. It is said that there was a pious, but poor, man with three beautiful daughters. He could not afford a dowry for them, and worried that his three daughters would be forced to become slaves or prostitutes. Nicholas, hearing of his plight, tossed a sack of gold into the house in the middle of the night, three nights in a row, until all three daughters could be married to respectable men.
Whoever Nicholas really was, he was apparently very popular and his following grew fast. He is said to have died December 6th, 343. In 520, Roman Emperor Theodosius II ordered the Church of Saint Nicholas in Myra built on the site of the church where he had been bishop. His tomb stood inside, and was visited by many faithful, until his remains were stolen by Italians in 1087. (They are now housed in two different Basilicas in Italy.)
In the medieval era, another tale about Nicholas became popular. In this one, there was a famine, and an innkeeper took in three young boys. He killed them and pickled their bodies in brine, intending to sell their meat. Nicholas found out and resurrected the three youths.
(Resurrecting the three boys, Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne (created between 1503 and 1508))
Thus was Nicholas the saint of children, as well as sailors (for he had once calmed a storm during a crossing of the sea), of brewers, of merchants, of repentant thieves, and really of anyone else who wants to ask for his favor.
His feast day is celebrated on the day of his supposed death, on December 6th. In Greece, where he is the patron saint, the day is celebrated greatly. And across continental Europe, children set out their shoes in the hopes of receiving a gift from the Saint.
Iconography of Saint Nicholas shows him as balding, with a neatly trimmed white beard and the vestments of a Bishop. But when Saint Nicholas comes bearing gifts in December, he often has a long, flowing white beard. Throughout human history in Europe, powerful men of great spiritual ability are often depicted as older white men with long white beards. From the Roman god Saturn, to the Germanic god Odin, to modern wizards like Gandalf. We can see another example of this in the figure of “Father Christmas.”
(Icon of St Nicholas from 1294)
This British personification of the season is not a gift-giver, but appeared to represent the holiday in Political Cartoons. In the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell and his Puritans overthrew the British monarchy and banned the celebration of Christmas. (They considered it a pagan holiday with a veneer of Christianity pasted on top. And worse, it was Catholic.) So irate Brits created the character of Father Christmas to plead for the Good Old Days of feasting and merrymaking to return. Father Christmas, of course, is an older man in a cloak with a long, white beard.
Back to Saint Nicholas and his gift-giving. Of course, Saint Nicholas, as a Bishop, could reward good children but not punish the naughty. So, often, he is accompanied by a “dark companion” to doll out the punishment while the Saint rewards the good.
But then, in 1517, the Christian World was rocked when Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Thesises. The Protestant Revolution swept Europe, with many countries converting to Luthernism or another branch of Protestantism instead of Catholicism. While some places later switched back, many did not.
As Protestants, it was no longer proper to celebrate the Saint’s Feast Days. Including Saint Nicholas Day. However, Saint Nicholas Day was extremely popular. And, as we’ve seen with other midwinter holidays, it’s very hard to get people to stop celebrating a holiday they really like.
So many places replaced Saint Nicholas with suspiciously similar substitutes. Faux Nicholases. They go by names such as Pelznickle (Nicholas in Furs) and Der Weinachtsmann. In some places, a new gift-giver was introduced. The Christkindle, or Christ Child (depicted as an angel) who brings good children gifts on Christmas Eve. In the Netherlands, people were so attached to their Saint that they dressed Sinterklaas all in red, to disguise his identity as a saint, and celebrated him in private. The Dutch government later allowed the Saint to be celebrated publicly, and indeed, his arrival is a huge occasion in the Netherlands today.
(Sinterklaas arriving in the Netherlands)
As people from all over Europe emigrated to America, various
Christmas traditions melted and combined. Dutch from the lowlands with their
Sinterklaas, the Pennsylvania Dutch bringing the German Belsnickle. Others with
Christkindle, which became Kriss Kringle. And yet others with Saint Nicholas.
In 1821, a little book titled “The Children's Friend: A New-Year's Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve” was published in New York. In it, “SanteClaus” is depicted in a poem that describes him bringing sweets and toys to good children, and leaving a birch rod for beating naughty children. The poem is interesting for being the first piece of literature to describe Santa as using a sleigh pulled by a reindeer (typically, Saint Nicholas arrives on a white horse), and also for being a likely source of inspiration for the far more famous poem by Clement Clark Moore.
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(First known depiction of Santa Claus with a reindeer, from 'Old Sante Claus with Muche Delight" 1821)
In 1823, the well-known poem “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” (also known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas” after the opening line) was published anonymously in a New York newspaper. As far as we know, it was composed by Clement Clark Moore to read to his children at Christmas at their home. (Perhaps Moore had read the poem published two years previously about Santa, but found the lines about beating naughty children with a rod too harsh, thus influencing his choice to write his own version) A family friend listening in wrote down the poem, and sent it to the newspaper.
It took a number of years for Moore to publicly claim the poem as his own. Possible reasons include him thinking the poem was too ‘juvenile’ to be associated with his other works, or because he didn’t want to infringe on the copyright of the poem that had inspired him.
Either way, “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” took off like wildfire, being re-printed in newspapers across the country for years afterwards. It’s popularity helped codify several of the traditions associated with Santa Claus. Such as his arrival being on Christmas Eve, as opposed to December 6th. His sleigh being pulled by reindeer (and their names). Toys being placed in stockings hung by the fire, as opposed to in shoes at the end of the bed.
The poem also contained enough detail for anyone who was unfamiliar with the Santa ritual to begin celebrating it themselves as well. What’s interesting, however, is that the poem never uses the name “Santa Claus.” Instead, he is “Saint Nick.” (Presumably because that was the name used in the Moore household.) Despite this, ‘Santa Claus’ was well known enough in America as a Christmas Gift-Giver that newspaper publishers had no problems connecting the poem to Santa.
The poem also takes care to describe Saint Nicholas as a round, jolly old elf, far from the regal bishop of Europe. Which led to visual depictions of Santa changing as well.
As illustrations began to be used more and more in publishing, visual depictions of Santa Claus pop up more and more in America. His appearance varied (in some, he isn’t even bearded!), as did his name. (One book was called ‘Kriss Kringle’s Raree Show”, an alteration of the German ‘Christkindle.’)
One illustrator who had more influence than most was Thomas Nast. An immigrant from Germany, his depictions of Santa Claus were colored by his experience with Belsnickle in his native village. (Belsnickles dress all in furs). Unlike other illustrators of the time, Nast drew for the magazine Harper Weekly, and thus had a nation-wide audience. He drew for the magazine from 1862 until 1886, drawing many famous depictions of Santa during his tenure.
Under Nast’s pen, Santa became round, jolly, and dressed in furs. He adores children, and carries a colorful bounty of toys.
He also became used for advertising more and more throughout the mid-to-late 1800’s, appearing in advertisements in newspapers and even in person for Christmas events at Department stores. Slowly, the vision of the American Santa Claus/Saint Nicholas was coming together.
The final stage in Santa’s development came in the 1930’s, when the Coca Cola company was looking for a way to advertise to children (without actually targeting ads directly at children, which was illegal) Artist Hadden Sundblom created the iconic image of the jolly Santa, with his white hair and long beard, rosy red cheeks, and red fur suit with white trim. Soon, Americans couldn’t imagine the Christmas gift-giver in any other way.
(Coca Cola ad, 1952)
The popularity, and influence, of American media worldwide is such that the image of the American Santa Claus has spread to most other countries, in some cases working alongside or even replacing the native Christmas Gift-giver. Though some regions still have their stately Saint Nicholas in his bishop’s robe with his white horse, the jolly Santa Claus is also here to stay.
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