Santa Claus has now become an integral part of the Christmas season, but the dear man with the red coat and white beard is also subject to a myth: he supposedly comes from Coca Cola!
Well , Coca Cola will have played a significant in the dissemination of the image of Santa Claus, because the depiction of Santa Claus dressed in red and white with a pointed hat was illustrated in this familiar form in 1931 by the illustrator Haddon Sundblom on behalf of Coca Cola He is not the first .
The term “Santa Claus” in German-speaking countries is also much older than the illustration from 1931. Santa Claus appears more often than Santa Claus, especially in Protestant regions, and can be visually distinguished from him in that he does not have the figure of a bishop. Santa Claus and his relative Santa Claus are red and white, have a beard and a pointed hat. However, the figure is definitely based on St. Nicholas and developed into different shapes in different countries: Santa Claus in the USA, Sinterklaas in Holland and Father Frost in Russia.
The song with the text “ Tomorrow Santa Claus is coming” by Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798–1874), which has been sung since 1835, clearly shows that Santa Claus already had a certain popularity in German-speaking countries at that time, a good 100 years before Coca Cola illustration was discussed across the board.
Likewise, in 1821, in a poem by an unknown author published by the New York publisher William Gilley, there was already a description of “Sante Claus”, a figure that Dutch immigrants brought with them under the name Sinterklaas and corresponds to Santa Claus.
There is more information about the relationship between Santa Claus - Santa Claus - Christkind in this article , but we don't want to go into it any further now.
1897
This is the year to which the oldest colored finds of a red and white Santa Claus with a pointed hat can be dated. An APA press report from 2007 states:
The old man in the red and white suit is apparently not an invention of an American soda company. His face has now been found on a postcard from the 19th century.
Santa Claus in the red and white coat was around in the 19th century and therefore for much longer than previously thought. This is what postcard collector Christl Hütten from Beuren in Eichsfeld, Thuringia, discovered, as the Erfurt-based “Thüringer Allgemeine” reports in its Christmas Eve edition.
Corresponding postcards, which show Santa Claus in a red and white coat, are in the Thuringian collector's collection. The oldest motif dates from December 18, 1897. The card, which was sent within Germany, has [sic! Note: Santa Claus is probably more likely to be trudging through the snow in a red coat with a white hem.
Previously, an American lemonade company had claimed to have invented Santa Claus in his typical outfit as an advertising figure in 1931.
(Source: APA )
There are corresponding contemporary postcards with the Santa Claus motif, which are owned by the postcard collector Christl Hütten from Beuren in Eichsfeld, Thuringia. This type of card was sent as a Christmas greeting in German-speaking countries and took up the motif of Santa Claus. In a Süddeutsche with the collector, we also learn that she is in possession of other cards that can be dated to 1904 and 1905 - also well before the Coca Cola illustration. However, not all of these maps consistently had the high-contrast red and white representation. Some of these older sources show Santa Claus depicted in brown or blue. In fact, Santa Claus had different colored embossings. There is also a green Santa Claus in Northern Europe, but in the end the red one generally prevailed.
(User upload in the Mimikama comments)
However, according to Christl Hütten, the map from 1897 is clear:
The man in the red and white robe has toys hanging around his neck and is standing in the snow in front of a lighted window with two angels. One of the angels carries a decorated Christmas tree.
An example of these cards from the time before the Coca Cola illustration can be seen in the Thüringer Allgemeine from December 24th, 2010 , in which a card from 1908 clearly shows Santa Claus in his now well-known illustration.
(Screenshot: Thüringer Allgemeine )
Coca Cola answers user question
To the query “Is it true that Santa traditionally wears red because of Coca‑Cola?”, Coca Cola responds on the “ Coca-Cola answers ” page:
No. It's widely believed that today's Santa wears a red suit because that's the color associated with Coca‑Cola, but this isn't the case. Before the Coca‑Cola Santa was even created, St Nick had appeared in numerous illustrations and written descriptions wearing a scarlet coat.
However, it is true that Coca‑Cola advertising played a big role in shaping the jolly, rotund character we know and love today.
Coca Cola also answers in Germany:
It is said again and again that it was an invention of Coca-Cola. Is that correct? No.
[…]
And how does Coca-Cola come into the story? The Coca-Cola Company was inspired by the various Christmas characters and ultimately gave the Christmas ambassador his characteristic look.
(Source: Who is this man / Coca Cola )
This answer confirms that the red and white Santa Claus existed before the Coca Cola illustration, but that Coca Cola is largely responsible for its spread.
Santa Claus today
Meanwhile, Santa Claus today is a person with a strong cultural fusion. Since there is no veneration of saints in the Protestant faith, Santa Claus gradually developed from St. Nicholas (parallel to the Christ child) in Protestant regions in the period after the Reformation, and Catholic symbols such as the bishop's staff and bishop's hat were logically eliminated. Santa Claus, in his old form partly based on Nordic myths, was also “exported” to the USA and developed his own development there, which was re-imported to Europe by Coca Cola and Hollywood.
Since there are no longer the same clear cultural boundaries as in earlier times, the forms of St. Nicholas, Santa Claus and Christ Child have partly mixed, but St. Nicholas in particular is limited to December 6th and the eve of it, Santa Claus and the Christ Child are more likely to do so Christmas itself is allocated as working time.
Further sources:
- Postcard refutes Coca-Cola theory (RP-Online)
- Because of Coca-Cola, Santa Claus is much older (N-TV)
- Santa Claus older than expected (News.at)
- Coke? Oh what! (South German)
Article and preview image: Kiselev Andrey Valerevich / Shutterstock.com
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )