After the
demise of the puritans in Europe and America the St Nicholas legend went from
strength to strength.
He has over
recent centuries become known by different names for example in Holland he is
known as Sinter Klaas and when the Dutch arrived in New York or New Amsterdam
as it was then the red suited Sinter Klaas arrived with them but the name has
since become Americanized into Santa Claus.
The first
time the Name Santa Claus appeared in print was in 1773 but the first
description of the most traditional image of Santa Claus was by popular author
Washington Irving In his History of New York, published in 1809.
But he was
finally immortalized along with his eight reindeer in 1823 in the poem “A Visit
from Saint Nicholas” more commonly known to all of us as “The Night Before
Christmas” written by Clement Clarke Moore an Episcopal minister.
Moore, who
wrote the poem for his three daughters, depicted Santa Claus as a "right
jolly old elf" with a supernatural ability to ascend up a chimney with a
simple nod of his head.
The familiar
round jolly white bearded image of Santa Claus was definitively illustrated by
the political cartoonist Thomas Nast for Christmas issues of Harper's Weekly
magazine in 1881.
It was Nast
who revealed the details of Santa's workshop at the North Pole and alerted the
world to the existence of what have become known as the naughty and nice lists.
Haddon Sundblom further reinforced Santa’s image when, in 1931, he drew a
representation of the jolly red faced Saint for the Coca-Cola Company as part
of their advertising campaign which was so successful that he has been used
every year since.
Through
literary references and descriptions of Christmas the legend of St Nicholas
spread and became ingrained in all of us and Along the way the legend of the gift giver became intertwined with other
country’s myths and folk lore figures and St Nicholas became known by a wide
variety of names.
As well as Santa Claus or Sinter Klaas he is named Father Christmas, Kris
Kringle, Père Noël, der Weinachtsmann and Papa Noel to name but a few.
So I can say
to you all with hand on heart to young and old wherever you might live there is
most definitely a Santa Claus.
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