Merry Christmas! Here's what dented Brand Santa forever
Merry Christmas! Here's what dented Brand Santa forever
It is Christmas and the ‘Ho ho ho!’ jolly good old fellow in red-and-white would have arrived on his reindeer sleigh all the way from the North Pole to drop the gifts in your stockings — if you have been good all year.
So, who is this old man and why should he gift the children of the world?
Here is taking you through the story of Santa Claus — or St Nicholas, to address him by his proper name.
History time, kids!
The legend of St Nicholas goes all the way back to 3rd century AD. It is believed that he was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey, to rich parents who died in an epidemic. He was raised by his uncle who was a bishop.
Neither was St Nicholas jolly nor was he fat. The only similarities with Santa Claus he shared were his generosity, kindness and piety.
The legend goes that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and travelled the countryside to serve the poor and sick. One of the most told tales about him is how he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married.
Over the years, St Nicholas’s popularity spread, and he became famous as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is observed on the anniversary of his death — December 6 —by the faithful.
By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe, and even the Protestant Reformation — which discouraged the veneration of saints — did not diminish the popularity of St Nicholas, who was associated with a positive image.
Through these years he did not have the pink-cheeked, snow-bearded father Christmas look that he is identified with (even by toddlers) today. In fact, during the 16th Century, Saint Nicholas was pictured to be somewhat like this:
From St Nicholas to Sinter Klaas — Santa Claus is coming to town!
St. Nicholas arrived in the imagination of the American popular culture sometime in the late 1700s. When the Dutch first settled along the Hudson River in 1624 and established the colony of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island two years later, they brought their culture along.
It is said that in December 1773 and 1774, Dutch families in New York had gathered to observe St Nicholas Feast Day on his death anniversary. The American newspapers carried the news piece as the observance of Sinter Klaas Day (evolved from St Nicholas’s Dutch name —Sint Nikolaas). Since December 6 is considered lucky for buying wealth and associated with gifting, the gift-giver was first mentioned as ‘Santa the Claus’ in a 1773 magazine — Rivington's Gazette — published in New York City, saying, "Last Monday, the anniversary of St Nicholas, otherwise called Santa the Claus, was celebrated at Protestant Hall, at Mr Waldron's; where a great number of sons of the ancient saint, the Sons of Saint Nicholas, celebrated the day with great joy and festivity."
So how did the bubbly Santa as we know him today arrive?
In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contained the images of Santa Claus similar to how we know him today — complete with stockings filled with toys and a fruit handing over the fireplace. In 1809, Washington Irving referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book— The History of New York.
However, until this point, Sinter Klaas was associated with gifting on Feast Day (December 6) and not with Christmas.
Here is a man dressed as Sinter Klaas at a parade in Amsterdam
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Between 1820 and 1840, stores began to advertise Santa Claus in newspapers announcing the Christmas shopping. In 1841, thousands of children reportedly visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model.
It was only a short while before the children wanted to take a peek at the live Santa in the stores and the parents tagged along as they shopped for the holiday season. In the 1890s, the Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families. They began dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations.
Two New Yorkers — Clement Clark Moore and Thomas Nast — are responsible for Santa Claus as we know him today — the one for whom millions wait on Christmas Eve.
In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas poem —A Visit from St. Nicholas — for his three daughters.
Moore’s poem (which incidentally he was reluctant to publish due to the ‘frivolous nature’) went on to be called "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American", and became responsible for the image of Santa Claus. The poem describes Santa as a ‘right jolly old elf’ who was chubby and plump, and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney with a mere nod of his head. His poem popularised the Santa Claus who flew from house to house on Christmas Eve — in “a miniature sleigh” led by eight flying reindeer — leaving presents for children.
A reluctant Moore had created one of the most popular American icons.
In 1881, cartoonist Thomas Nast drew on Moore’s poem to visually create our jolly good Santa Claus. The cartoon was published in Harper’s Weekly and gave Santa a bright red suit trimmed with white fur, North Pole workshop, elves, and his wife, Mrs Claus.
A Santa is a Santa is a Santa — by whatever name.
Christkind or Kris Kringle — meaning the child of Christ — is an angel-like figure, who accompanies St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. He is believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children.
In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten delivers gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats.
English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children’s stockings with holiday treats.
Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children.
In Russia, an elderly woman — Babouschka — apparently gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn’t find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find the men to undo the damage. To make amends, Babouschka visits Russian children even today leaving gifts on January 5, at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven.
In Italy, a woman called La Befana — a kindly witch riding a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes — delivers toys into the stockings of the children.
So what burst the jolly bubble?
So many factors actually!
Foremost, the song that alienated more than half the world — White Christmas. Recently, a petition was passed around the American colleges asking the song to be banned on the radio — describing it as an offence to all coloured people. The lyrics by Irving Berlin describe white as a beautiful and associated with the good.
Also, if St Nicholas was born in Central Asia, what makes Santa Claus white?
In the world where consensus has rightly gained paramount importance, Santa’s hugging the kids raises questions of assault. Are the millions of kids questioned before Santa hugs them and makes them sit on his lap in the malls worldwide?
And what about the emotional health of the “bad” ones? Does being deprived of Santa’s gift for being “naughty” not leave a lasting impact on the feeling of being rejected?
And does forcing captive reindeer to drag the fat old man across the globe-trotting on a sleigh not amount to animal cruelty? It seems deliberate and premeditated cruelty to me.
It is time Santa hired a very good lawyer to argue his case!
There kids! Though we busted your Santa bubble, we still hope you have a very Merry Christmas and loads of happiness ahead — with or without the jolly good fellow!