(In Pics) Six Depictions of Santa Claus through History

Santa is near-ubiquitous in his depiction today: a fat, jolly man with a red suit, black belt and white fur trim to match his white beard. Friendly and approachable, he gives presents to all the good children on Christmas Eve.

Of course, this is a very modern version of Santa indeed. Popularized as the depiction of Santa following the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and especially after the image was co-opted by Coca Cola in the early 20th century for its marketing, the depictions of Santa which came earlier are as varied as they are weird.

Who was this figure, and where did he come from? How did people in previous centuries see Santa: what have we remembered, and what have we lost?

1. Saint Nicholas

*Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children and the* *Christian* *origin for Santa, almost certainly did not resemble his modern depiction at all. A 4th century* *Greek* *Christian bishop of Myra on the* *Mediterranean* *coast of modern* *Turkey*, he was known for his piety and his generosity with gifts. His name day was 6th December and in tribute to his giving, friends would often give each other gifts on that day. We don’t really know what he looked like from contemporary sources: the above depiction is from the 13th century (Unknown Author / *Public Domain*)

2. Father Christmas

*The other major influence in the creation of the modern Santa is Father Christmas, a* *pagan* *spirit known as the Christmas gift-bringer. In his most familiar form with a long beard, a yule log and a sack of presents he dates back to at least the reign of* *Henry VIII* *in the 16th century, but the tradition is far older. This depiction dates from 1848 (Alfred Henry Forrester /* *Public Domain*)

3. Sinter Klaas

*Yes, but what about “Santa Klaus” himself? Well, that tradition and particularly the name started with the* *Dutch* *and their version of the Saint Nicholas and their distortion of his name. In the low countries today Sinter Klaas is welcomed from* *Spain* *every year by boat to cheering children and Christmas songs. He then throws gifts to the assembled crowd (P Servaas /* *Public Domain*)

4. Odin

There was plenty going on in the dead of winter in pagan communities as well during the dark ages, and these communities already had a mysterious visitor with a long white beard who would come to watch over them during the coldest days. The Norse god Odin would at this time of year ride in on a *grey horse, bring gifts and preside over the Yule feast, and was certainly an influence on the later depictions of Santa (Unknown Author /* *Public Domain*)

5. Krampus

*The Germans, on the other hand, went in a very different direction.* *Krampus*, their winter demon and the closest equivalent in behavior to Santa Claus, visited the naughty children at Christmas to scare them. Depicted as a large, hairy goat like creature, he would bring dried fruit for the good children and beat the naughty ones with birch rods (Unknown Author / *Public Domain*)

6. Kris Kringle

*The version of Santa most associated with his modern appearance however is Kris Kringle, the* *American* depiction. This version of Santa Claus was cemented in the public consciousness with this 1881 depiction by Thomas Nast, often called the father of American cartoons. The heavyset Santa who lives at the *North Pole* *and climbs down your chimney at night comes from this late 19th century American version (Thomas Nast /* *Public Domain*)

Top Image: Santa Claus on the cover of Puck magazine in 1896. Source: Charles Jay Taylor / Public Domain.

References

Joseph Green

Joseph Green is editor for Historic Mysteries, which combines his background in English Literature with a lifelong fascination for the strange and the unexplained. Read More