Whether you know him as Santa, Pere Noel, Father Christmas, or simply Mr. Claus, the jolly man who brings gifts to good boys and girls all over the world is an icon. The traditional American Santa Claus is a representation of the Christian Saint Nicholas, but idea behind Santa extends back thousands of years and throughout countless cultures. Santa represents generosity, a warm grandfather like figure that rewards to good children everywhere. St. Nick is said to live in the North Pole where he keeps and eye over the children of the world while his elves build them toys. When the night of December 24th rolls around, Santa and his eight flying reindeer led by Rudolf’s shiny red nose, take to the sky with the toys to deliver. They land on the roof of each good girl and boy so Mr. Claus can climb down the chimney and leave the kids their gifts under the tree. Then with a few bites of cookie, and a few sips of milk, Santa climbs back up the chimney and it is on to the next house!
“Fashion Santa” 2015, Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Putting a modern “hipster” spin on the classic Santa Claus look is the “Fashion Santa”. This representation of Mr. Claus is part of a series of photos for the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Canada. The model, Paul Mason turned up the heat and brought out Santa’s sexier side with a cool leather jacket. The beard that once represented a warm grandfatherly figure has a new sense of virile masculinity.
Detail from “Broadside” by Alexander Anderson, Dec. 6th 1810
This is an extremely early depiction of the man behind the myth. The real Saint Nicholas of Greece was born circa 270 AD. He was known for being extremely generous would leave secret gifts for people. He is most known for paying the dowries of three poor sisters who would have otherwise had to resort to prostitution. He allegedly left money in their house as night possibly foreshadowing the idea that Santa Claus brings you gifts at night.
“Coca-Cola Santa” By: Haddon Sundblom, 1931
Here is the first image of trustful, cheerful Santa being used to advertise Coca-Cola. The two almost go hand in hand each being known for their recognizable red and white colors. In this representation St. Nick is acting as a celebrity endorser. He is a Santa Clause bursting with Christmas Cheer and a love for Coca-Cola.
Santa and Rudolf in “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer” 1964
A claymation representation of Santa was used in the making of this film. To tell the story of Rudolf, Saint Nick is completely innocent, loving, and jolly. Aimed at the kid in everyone of us this Santa helps Rudolf discover how special he truly is and save Christmas.
Billy Bob Thorton filming “Bad Santa 2” 2016
Opposite of the previous depiction of Santa which appealed to our innocence, Santa also has the ability to appeal to a cruder side of society as well. Here celebrity bad boy, Billy Bob Thorton, plays a down on his luck Santa impersonator with some dirty habits. There is are no Christmas magic to this Santa, just a lot of cold hard reality.
“Saint Nicholas” Lipnya Church of Saint Nicholas, Novorgood, 1294
Again we see a representation of the real Saint Nicholas. This piece hangs in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Novorgood Russia. The image shows Saint Nicholas in a strictly religious light. There are no links to his “Santa Claus” persona anywhere other than perhaps his quintessential white beard.
Illustration from “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement Moore, 1864
By the 1860’s the legend of Father Christmas had grown to his home in the North Pole, eight reindeer, workshop filled with elves making Christmas toys. The one thing still not completely synonymous with Santa Claus was his signature red and white suit. In this drawing of Mr. Claus he is shown wearing a light yellow suit. There are other depictions of Santa wearing all sorts of colors including blue and green!
“Japanese Santa” Artist Unknown, 1914
By the 1900’s Santa was officially coming into his own and gaining some world wide recognition. This is a representation of Santa from Japan who has all of the ideal American Santa qualities. He is wearing the classic red and white suit, with a full white beard, and a big sack of toys. He is placed in a classic environment filling stocking hung by the fire place with care while two children are in bed in the background.
“The Birth of Venus with Saint Nick” by Ed Wheeler, 2011
Santa is being incorporated in everything. Here photographer Ed Wheeler posed as Santa incorporated in Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus”. This gives a comical appearance to St. Nick, but still nods to his relevancy. Such a famous classic piece of art is as important as the image of Santa Claus.
Mean Girls, 2004
One of my favorite representations of Santa is the Plastics during the Holiday Talent Show in the movie Mean Girls. First off this is a female representation of Santa Claus with very sexual implications. The red suit is diminished to a mini skirt and tank top lined with white fur. His signature hat is atop not a rosy bearded head but a flat ironed hairspray head of a teen diva.
The fact that there are so many representations of Santa makes xe (I use this gender neutral pronoun because Santa can be interpreted as different genders) an unstoppable piece of visual culture. Over thousands of years he has transformed from a generous Greek Saint, to a round, jolly old man in a fluffy red suit, to a sexualized teen spreading christmas cheer. With the image of Santa Claus comes a lot of clout. Xe can encourage to you to buy products, or even join the army! But no matter where you look, Santa Clause represents the spirt of giving.
