For almost every child, their favorite day of the year is December 25th… Christmas! Children all over the world jump out of bed and run to their Christmas tree to see what their presents have in store for them. The stockings above the lit fireplace are stuffed with goodies and large colorful presents are waiting under the tree. But who is this magical being who brings all these presents to all the children of the world in one night? That person would be Santa Claus. He is a staple figure at Christmas, but how did he come to be what he is today? Throughout history, the image of Santa Claus has been shifted and changed to come to the modern Santa Claus we know and love today.
It all started out with a saint… Saint Nicholas. Many people refer…show more content… Rather than having Saint Nicholas, they had Sinter Klaas which was the shortened nickname for Saint Nicholas in the Dutch language. Sinter Klaas was more similar version of the modern Santa Claus we know today. Most of the time, he was described wearing red bishop robes to resemble the similarities to Saint Nicholas and was often pictured as a large man, according to The Public Domain Review. Sinter Klaas had the same affection for children and kindness for all that Saint Nicholas did. Sinter Klaas made sure that children behaved and obeyed their parents. The Dutch would celebrate Sinter Klaas with “stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace” (History.com staff). This is a tradition that has carried through the times to modern Christmas traditions today. Millions of children from all over the world hang up their stockings over the fireplace and wait for Santa to stuff them with toys and goodies on Christmas Day. These ideas were spread to America because of Dutch immigrants who openly celebrated these traditions (National Geographic). Thanks to the Dutch sharing their ideas, many Americans enjoyed these new Christmas concepts and began to build upon these Dutch traditions. Sinter Klaas was popular among the Dutch for nearly five centuries and provided a great…show more content… One of the first commercial appearances of the modern Santa Claus was with the Salvation Army around 1890. The Salvation Army would dress up unemployed men in Santa suites to ring bells around the city asking for donations. This helped pay for public meals the Salvation Army provided. This tradition is still carried out by the Salvation Army today. In the 1940’s Coca Cola would put a jolly illustration of Santa Claus on their Coke bottles. This was another popular image of Santa that spread wildly around the world. At this time in history, Santa was described as a large jolly man. He had a red coat and trousers lined with white fur along with a red and white-fur cap. He had a black leather belt and black leather boots. He was sometimes seen smoking a pipe and was almost always carrying a big bag of toys. Most importantly, he had his large white beard and his signature “Ho, ho, ho!” laugh especially defined modern Santa. From then on out, the image of Santa Claus mainly stayed the same and that is how he most often appears today. Nearly every child in the whole world knows who Santa Claus is and can recognize him because of his signature features. He appears in many Christmas commercials for retail stores, car companies, and more. Everywhere you look at Christmastime you can see that jolly old man smiling back at you. Today, Santa Claus is enjoyed and loved by many and continues to be the main mascot of
