The North Pole home, toy-making elves, eight named reindeer, and a good wife. These were the things that became associated with Santa Claus before the end of the 1800's. He came to be known for his nighttime visits between the bedtime hours and the wee hours of morning of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He was no longer just Santa Claus, Father Christmas, and Saint Nicholas. He was also Kris Kringle. These things were only reenforced during the 1900's. It was also around the early start of this century that children started writing to Santa Claus about their Christmas wishes whether for themselves or for others.
L. Frank Baum (the same who wrote The Wizard of Oz) offered more to Santa’s mythology with his story The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. Neclaus, named for his adopted mother, grew up in the love and comfort of a magical forest inhabited by nature’s immortal caregivers. As a young man, the ruler of the realm, Ak, shows Neclaus the world of humans, thus the young man determines that he will bring joy and a taste of his own childhood to the poor children outside of the forest. Of course there is much more to the story, and you can be sure that when I get my hands on a copy again I’ll be sure to review it and post it here. (Maybe even put in a good word for the film version that I was introduced to first.)
Another literary appearance that I am familiar with is Father Christmas giving gifts to the Pevensies in the classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.
Thanks to a Coca-Cola advertising campaign in the 1930's, Santa’s coat was forever branded as red with white fur trim. We may have even been granted some of the most iconic appearances of our favorite gift-giver. A man with a generous middle wrapped round with a black belt; moderate-length, slightly bushy beard; a round nose tinged red from cold; a pair of rosy cheeks atop a wide smile; and eyes twinkling with delight and laughter. Admittedly this was the Santa I grew up with on corkboard coasters. (Although I can’t remember if it was actually Coke Santa or if by that time Pepsi-Cola had borrowed the idea. (I wonder because one of my aunts worked for Pepsi so I’m not sure if we would have had anything Coke related in the house.))
It was about this time that Rudolph was introduced to the world and joined the already established team of eight. There were also a good many songs being sung about Santa. “Up on the House Top,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” and “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” are a handful of the classics I personally grew up on.
Somewhere between the 1950's and 1990's several Christmas classics featuring Santa Claus appeared. Some were little shorts that were live action, one that immediately comes to mind features a Punch and Judy Show after Santa has given out some gifts to a few children. Then there are those little cartoons that couldn’t have been longer than fifteen minutes if even, that feature the jolly fellow. If I could properly describe the artistic style I would, but all I can rightly say is the simplistic style that was so popular and widely used before Disney produced the high quality of animation that was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But the classics that I will forever remember are the stop motion films: Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and another that I have seen only a handful of times and so I can’t remember the name. (Ugh!!)
I know that there are a hundred and one different films and storybooks featuring this traditional version of Santa Claus. Barney the Dinosaur has taken his friends up to meet Mrs. Claus at the North Pole, the episode ending with Santa Claus visiting the kids’ home. Song-centric cartoon films featuring Santa, even if he’s in the background. Such sweet stories as Annabelle’s Wish and The Polar Express. And I am sure many more that I may or may not want to know about, all depending on the content.
But in summary there is the Santa Claus that most of us have most likely grown up with to one extent or another. If you have any warm memories about Santa Claus, don’t hesitate in sharing it in the comments. It doesn’t matter to me whether you believe in him or not, it would just be cool to maybe hear your own thoughts on him.
Well, the next and final post in this series will be taking a peek at some more modern interpretations of this “jolly old elf.”
Until then . . .
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD DAY/NIGHT!!!!
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