Santa Claus is the spirit of Christmas. Thanks to numerous tales and pop culture references, Santa has become a dominating figure in the Western world. It is said that Santa’s sleigh is pulled through the air by flying reindeer while Christmas elves make gifts in his workshop. Meanwhile, the legendary figure is always seen in an iconic red suit trimmed with white fur.
Why does Santa Claus wear red and white?
The contemporary Santa Claus is a patchwork figure assembled from several origins, reports the BBC. One of the inspirations is Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Greek bishop, who wore red robes while distributing gifts among the poor children.
The Dutch character Sinterklaas, who was originally based on Saint Nicholas and whose legend flourished in the once-Dutch metropolis of New York, is also largely responsible for the Santa that we know today. In the early 1800s, wealthy Manhattanites like Washington Irving and Clement Clarke Moore were fans of Sinterklaas.
The American concept of Santa Claus, the red-robed patron saint who gives gifts to everyone, was largely created by Moore, who wrote the song “Twas The Night Before Christmas” in 1823.
In the United States, Christmas gift commercials also started to appear often in the 1820s. Santa himself became a common commercial image in advertisements by the 1840s, per the outlet.
The BBC also reports that there are stories that the modern Santa was dressed in red-and-white colours to promote Coca-Cola in the 1930s. However, Santa was also used as a marketing tool by the beverage company White Rock in 1923.
Santa Claus in popular culture
The first actor to be identified as having portrayed Santa Claus was Leedham Bantock in the 1912 film Santa Claus, which he also directed. The movie uses intricate models and shows sequences captured using a restricted, two-tone colour method.
Since then, Santa Claus has starred in numerous feature films, such as Elf, The Santa Clause, and Miracle on 34th Street. Cartoon Santa has been voiced by several artists, including Mickey Rooney, Jim Cummings, Mel Smith, Ricky Tomlinson, Jim Belushi, and Alec Baldwin.
A high peak in Kyrgyzstan was given the name Santa Claus because a Swedish business proposed that it would be a more effective starting point than Lapland for gift-giving expeditions worldwide.
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On December 30, 2007, government representatives attended the Santa Claus Festival in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The nation formally proclaimed 2008 to be the Year of Santa Claus. The events are viewed as attempts to increase travel to Kyrgyzstan, per RadioFreeEurope.
Thrissur, Kerala, India, holds the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as Santa Clauses. On December 27, 2014, 18,112 Santas surpassed the previous record.
