In many countries around the world, Santa Claus is traditionally considered the symbol of the New Year. Each nation calls him by its own name: the Finns call him Joulupukki, the Croatians Djed Mraz, the Turks Noel Baba, the French Père Noël, while the Greeks do not mention him at all, considering St. Basil the Great as the one who brings gifts and blessings for the New Year.
Although it may seem that this kind-hearted old man with a snow-white beard has always existed, he only became a symbol of the New Year’s holidays about 200 years ago. Santa’s appearance evolved gradually, with each nation adding something of its own, but his essential attributes have always been his white mustache and beard, gloves, and a sack of gifts.
Today, it is difficult to find anyone who does not know who Santa Claus is. The image of the powerful and generous old man in a red coat is, in modern perception, inseparably linked to Christmas gifts, Christmas trees, the festive atmosphere, and joy.
Many people today are also aware that behind this figure from fairy tales lies a very real historical prototype—St. Nicholas of Myra, the Bishop of Lycia and the city of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. Veneration of St. Nicholas began in Germany as early as the 6th century, in Rome in the 8th, and later, in the Middle Ages, the beautiful custom spread throughout Europe: on St. Nicholas’ Day, children were given gifts, following his example. The cult of St. Nicholas was especially widespread in Holland, which is not surprising since the Dutch have always been a seafaring people, and St. Nicholas is regarded as the protector and patron of sailors. On the eve of the saint’s feast, children were given gifts: their wooden shoes were filled with fruits and sweets.
However, here’s the dilemma: less than three weeks later came Christmas, with its own equally strong tradition of gift-giving, following the example of the Wise Men who brought Christ gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Over time, these two gift-giving traditions merged into one and became a fixed part of the Christmas celebration. St. Nicholas gradually transformed into a benevolent figure, a kind wizard who gave gifts to children and fulfilled their most secret wishes. But how did this remarkable transformation of the appearance of this well-known Christian Saint occur? Let us try to explain.
During the Reformation, the cult of saints weakened and nearly disappeared in Protestant countries. Only in Holland was Sinterklaas—as they called St. Nicholas—still celebrated. This custom, along with the traditional gift-giving for children, was brought to New Amsterdam (as New York was once called) by Dutch immigrants. It was here that the Dutch Sinterklaas became Santa Claus. This Americanized name for the Saint gradually became known worldwide. And this is how it happened:
In 1822, on Christmas Eve, Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of Eastern and Greek literature at Columbia University (and later a professor at the New York Seminary), composed a rhymed fairy tale for his six children, in which Santa Claus was the main character (St. Nicholas had never been portrayed as a fairy-tale figure before). In that short poetic tale, Santa Claus appeared on Christmas Eve, descending down the chimney with a large sack on his back to deliver presents to the children. He was depicted as a cheerful and jolly old elf, with a round belly and a pipe. Moore’s children immediately recognized their beloved household servant—an obese and jolly Dutchman. But in their father’s verses, he appeared to them in a coat with a white beard and a red nose. Santa Claus, according to Moore, traveled in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer, and his arrival was heralded by the crunch of the sleigh and the melodic sound of bells tied around the reindeers’ necks.
Клемент Мур немал намера да ја објави својата бајка. Задоволен од восхитот и радоста на семејството, тој го положил ракописот во своето биро и веќе не спомнал за него. Но, еден од другарите на Мур, без негово знаење ја испратил оваа приказна до весникот Sentinel, во малиот американски град Трој, држава Њујорк. Овој Божикен расказ на Мур бил испечатен во 1823 година, спроти Божик и успехот бил зачудувачки. Сите весници и магазини се натпреварувале да го отпечатат расказот, а наскоро се појавиле и одделни негови изданија. Така Клемент Мур, без да сака, станал класика на американската литература, а Санта Клаус влегол во секојдневниот живот на милиони американци.
Clement Moore had no intention of publishing his fairy tale. Satisfied with the joy and excitement of his family, he put the manuscript away in his desk and never mentioned it again. However, one of Moore’s friends, without his knowledge, sent the story to the Sentinel newspaper in the small American town of Troy, New York. Moore’s Christmas tale was printed in 1823, just before Christmas, and its success was astounding. All newspapers and magazines competed to reprint the story, and soon separate editions of it began to appear. Thus, Clement Moore, unintentionally, became a classic of American literature, and Santa Claus entered the daily lives of millions of Americans.
The first widely recognized artistic depiction of Santa Claus was created in 1862 by cartoonist Thomas Nast. For the next 24 years, he regularly drew Santa on the covers of the popular magazine Harper’s Weekly. However, Thomas Nast’s Santa had one essential flaw: he was black-and-white. The red coat for this jolly old fairy-tale character was added in 1885 by Louis Prang, who brought the Victorian tradition of Christmas cards, printed in color lithography, to America. Thus, Santa Claus, instead of the fur Nast had drawn, received a bright red coat. Finally, in 1930, the American company Coca-Cola came up with a clever marketing strategy to keep their products in mind year-round. The Chicago artist Haddon Sundblom drew Santa Claus in the red-and-white colors of Coca-Cola. As in the case of Moore’s servant, the prototype for Sundblom’s Santa was a real person—his friend and neighbor Lou Prentiss, whom Sundblom used as the model for the now universally recognized Santa in a red-and-white fur coat. This is how the modern image of Santa Claus was born.
Today, in the tolerant societies of the West, Christ is barely mentioned during the Christmas holidays (supposedly, this might offend people of other faiths, atheists, or even Satanists). Therefore, Christmas is no longer a celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world, but a time for sales, gifts under the tree, and a break from work. On this holiday, Santa Claus is a professional entertainer, handing out gifts and taking photos. Santa Claus, so popular even in our region, differs little from his Western counterpart. On New Year’s Eve, he also goes from home to home, visiting businesses and offices, reciting poems, singing songs, taking photos, offering drinks, and distributing prepaid gifts.
What connection do these jolly, red-coated men with cotton beards have with the feast of Christ’s Nativity? None at all. Today, Santa Claus is merely a prop of the consumerist society, designed to boost sales. Psychologists have long noted this phenomenon: even those with no connection to Christianity feel a festive spirit during the Christmas season and are eager to give gifts to their loved ones. For major retailers in the U.S. and Europe, the Christmas season accounts for the bulk of their annual revenue.
In all this holiday euphoria, there is a sad reality: in the many transformations of the mythical Santa, the image of St. Nicholas of Myra has gradually faded and, in the end, almost completely disappeared, making it practically impossible to find his features in today’s Coca-Cola Santa Claus.
And we should not even try. Those who want to know what the real St. Nicholas of Myra looked like need not look at the colorful depictions created by American advertising agencies. It is much easier and more correct to go to any Orthodox church, where the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker always occupies a place of honor, alongside the icons of Christ and the Theotokos. In the gentle yet serious face of this Saint, there is nothing that even remotely resembles the jolly, red-nosed Santa. Nevertheless, the real St. Nicholas, the true Santa Claus (whom we call Dedo Mraz) is the very same one who the Western world has now almost entirely forgotten.
Source: Pravmir; Pravoslavie;
