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From: twcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Terry Chan)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: Is Santa Claus Odin?
Date: 31 Dec 1993 02:38:05 GMT

Rick Kitchen (ap974@yfn.ysu.edu) wrote: ->
-Sant wears a red and white suit because red and white are the colors of -Coca Cola... Prior to that time, there was no canonical color for Santa.

Towhich abraxas@cyberspace.com (William L. Houts) writes: ->No, this isn't strictly true. Santa Claus as we imagine him now originates ->with the (in)famous 19th century political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, who ->did, in fact, picture Santa Claus in red and white. Nast's Christmas saint ->had a slightly ragged, even sinister, edge to him, but he's essentially ->who we have now --colors and all.

hatunen@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) writes: -Wasn't Saint Nicholas a cardinal or somesuch? I always thought that's -where the red outfit came from.

Hm, well, guess it's that time again. The modern version of Santa Claus (US) is more or less based on Nast's version. But I believe that Nast's stuff was in monochrome (as someone else noted). Following is a repost from one of my earlier posts:

[The stuff relating the 'shrooms, while fascinating, are not included. Sorry folks.]

jmason@iona.ie (Justin Mason) writes: >Hmm.. I thought that red-and-white Santa Claus thing was (obUL) due to >Coca-Cola's marketing machine around the turn of the century adopting >him for a campaign, and giving him the Coke colours. Maybe a.f.u can >clear this one up...

Which also prompts the lovely, gracious, white, and possibly tastes like hamburger Canadian Colleen_Anderson@mindlink.bc.ca (Colleen Anderson) to agree and add:

+Ditto on the Coca Cola red & white. I also read that Santa wasn't that +popular or that universal a figure until Coca Cola got hold of him and his +outfit and look today are defined by early Coke adds. Santa's Scandinavian +in origin but Coca Cola in the appearance we see today.

Hm. Maybe I'll actually add this one to the FAQ one of these days. I base the following primarily on Panati's occasionally reliable _Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things_:

1. Santa's red and white robes predate the turn of the century and actually date back to the historical personage St. Nicholas who was the basis for Santa Claus. The red and white robes were the colors of the robes of bishops of the Roman Catholic church.
2. St. Nicholas was born in the ancient Turkish town of Lycia in the fourth century.
3. St. Nicholas was not commonly referred to during the Protestant Reformation in most European countries. However, the stories were passed on by the Dutch and the term "Santa Claus" evolves from the Dutch term for St. Nicholas.
4. The modern image of Santa Claus in the United States comes from a poem entitled "The Night Before Christmas" written by Dr. Clement Clarke Moore in 1822, which spread widely in newspapers and magazines throughout the country.
5. Moore's Santa was still a little different from the modern rolypoly version. This final version was popularized in a series of Christmas drawings that the famed cartoonist, Thomas Nast did for _Harper's Weekly_ between 1863 and 1886.

There is no mention of Coca-Cola.

Terry "Coke adds life: Except to Santa Claus" Chan --
Energy and Environment Division | Internet: TWChan@lbl.gov Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory | "If you don't have a sense of humor, Berkeley, California USA 94720 | it's not funny." -- Wavy Gravy

Terry "The Claus That Refreshes" Chan --
Energy and Environment Division | Internet: TWChan@lbl.gov Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory | Remember, angels fry because Berkeley, California USA 94720 | they shake their woks lightly.