Michael Bradley, Getty
Santa Claus' look wasn't created by Coca-Cola
The internet age has given rise to a lot of silly, unfounded rumors about everything from Walt Disney having his head frozen to Tommy Hilfiger
proclaiming on television that he didn’t want minorities wearing his
clothes. Even Santa has fallen victim to this scam, despite the fact
that he's technically a non-profit. Some have claimed that Coca-Cola's iconic portrait of Santa
has shaped the way we describe him to children. In reality, he's
actually more of an "evolutionary figure" whose look has been shaped by
writers, artists and even historians. Images of the familiar bearded fat
man in a red suit appeared in magazines, posters and ads long before
Coke's jolly portrayal of Saint Nick.
Wikipedia
The New York Knickerbockers (the writers, not the basketball team) helped create the modern American Santa
The biggest influence on Santa's
modern look and demeanor came more from a popular group of writers who
drew inspiration from an Episcopalian saint. The Knickerbockers of New York
wanted to reintroduce Saint Nicholas to society to provide a "cultural
counterweight for the commercial bustle and democratic misrule of early
nineteenth century New York." Contributors to the Saint Nicholas project
included 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' author Washington Irving, who
wrote a Christmas story about giving and generosity for his fictional
'Bracebridge Hall' series in which he described Santa as a large man in a
red suit smoking his favorite pipe. Clement Clarke Moore, a
contemporary of Irving's, was inspired by this depiction of Santa for
his 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' poem, in which he also described the
traditional Santa we know today.
Wikipedia
Clement Clarke Moore didn't want 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' published
Also known as 'A Visit From St. Nicholas,' the famous Christmas poem that practically invented the modern concept of Santa almost stayed in the drawer.
Moore, a 19th century author and classics professor, wrote the poem for
his family to celebrate Christmas in 1922, allegedly drawing
inspiration for Santa from a pudgy Dutch driver who took his family on a
sleigh ride. But Moore never intended for it to be made public. In
fact, a close friend of Moore's actually sent the poem to the Sentinel
newspaper, where it was published anonymously. The writer felt the poem
was beneath his talents, and when it was published and became a huge
hit, he denied authoring it for nearly 15 years. (It was eventually
included in an anthology of Moore's work thanks to the urging of his
kids.)
Mark Wilson, Getty
Santa didn’t always have a beard
Of course, Moore and company weren't responsible for inventing Santa, just enhancing his image. According to the book 'One Night Stands with American History,'
17th century Dutch settlers brought the jolly fat man to America's
shores and their image of Santa was "tall, slender and very dignified"
without his trademark beard. (He was based on the traditional Dutch
winter figure Sinterklaas.) Artist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast
added the beard and the rotund figure in the pages of 'Harper's Weekly'
during the latter part of the 19th century.
Wikipedia/The Maple Leaf
NORAD's "Santa Tracker" started from an error in a newspaper ad
The legend of Santa's infamous
sleigh ride was also perpetuated from a newspaper, but it wasn't done
intentionally. Back in 1955, a Sears ad printed the phone number of a
Colorado Springs store so children could tell Santa Claus what they
wanted for Christmas. The number was a misprint and instead sent
children to the hotline for Colonel Harry Shoup, Director of Operations for the US Continental Air Defense.
The calls poured in and instead of blocking the number, the kindly
Colonel ordered his staff to give children updates on Santa's flight
coordinates. The tradition has continued to this very day on the local
news, the internet and with a special "NORAD Tracks Santa" iPhone app.
Rosie Greenway, Getty
Santa's sleigh doesn’t travel at the speed of light
Despite what you might think about
Santa's ability to visit every good boy and girl's home in the world in
one night (and if you're over the age of 10 and still scratching your
head about it, you might want to evaluate your priorities), it's not as
astronomical of a feat as you might think. Technically, Santa would have
34 hours to complete his task thanks to the International Date Line
and, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s "Fermilab,"
his sleigh would only have to travel at 99.999999% of the speed of
light assuming he only visits 800 million houses over the entire surface
area of the Earth.
Alexander Hassenstein, Getty
Santa has a real postal zip code
Every year, post offices across
America, Canada and other parts of the world are flooded with letters
from kids addressed to Santa Claus. The Canadian Post Office receives so
many that some postal workers started answering the letters. As the
demand increased, the postal service set up a special zip code for Santa
as part of their annual "Santa Letter-writing Program" literacy initiative. The zip code? H0H 0H0, of course.
Sean Gallup, Getty
Santa is the world's richest man
He may not be in the gift giving
business for the big bucks, but Santa still needs money to keep his
operation rolling. (And to pay for the elves' dental plan. Those elf
unions are ruthless.) Thankfully, Santa's wealth surpasses even Scrooge
McDuck's money bin. Forbes compiled a list of the world's richest
fictional people and St. Nick topped it with a net worth of infinity. This beats the world's current net worth record holder, Mexican investor Carlos Slim Helu, who only topped out at a measly $74 billion. No wonder Santa's so jolly.
Dan Kitwood, Getty
Donner and Blitzen weren't originally part of Santa’s reindeer
The reindeer that take Santa on his
trip also underwent some rebranding through history. In the original
draft of 'A Visit from St. Nicholas,' Donner and Blitzen went by the far
clunkier monikers "Dunder" and "Blixem."
The names, much like Santa, were taken from the Dutch oath for the
words that mean "thunder and lightning." Over time, editors tinkered
with the reindeer names we are familiar with today. After all, it's
pretty hard to think of Rudolph as the outcast reindeer when he's on a
team with a guy named "Dunder."
Alex Wong, Getty
'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer' was created as a promotion for Montgomery Ward
Speaking of Rudolph, the most
famous of Santa's reindeer came to life as part of a commercial
promotion. His first appearance was in a story written in 1939 by ad
copywriter Robert L. May that was published in a Montgomery Ward department store promotional booklet
given out to children visiting Santa. Since Rudolph was created for
Montgomery Ward, the department store owned the copyright and May
received no royalties after it became a huge success. Sadly, May almost
went bankrupt paying for his ailing wife's medical bills before finally
convincing Montgomery Ward to give him the rights to the plucky
reindeer. Rudolph became an even bigger success when May set the story
to music with the help of his songwriter brother-in-law Johnny Marks. A
famous rendition recorded by Gene Autry became one of the best-selling
Christmas songs of all time, selling more than two million copies.
Wikipedia
Jesus Christ wasn't born on December 25
The Christian celebration of
Christmas is meant to praise the birth of Jesus Christ, but churchgoers
might want to check the date before they wrap up a fruit cake and put a
bow on it for Our Lord and Savior. In fact, early theologians put Jesus' birthday all over the calendar,
from November 18th by one Alexandrian bishop to March 28th by the
anonymous "De Pascha Computus" document found in North Africa. The truth
is that the Bible doesn't specify a date or time of Jesus' birth. Dec.
25th was chosen in the fourth century, most likely because it was also
the day of two similar pagan holidays that influenced the formation of
Christmas-- the birthday of Mithra and the Feast of Saturnalia.
Wikipedia
St. Nicholas is more than just the patron saint of children
The man who inspired Santa and
practically the entire Christmas holiday may portray the beauty of
giving and helping children in need, but Catholics in seven countries
recognize him as much more than just the patron saint of kids. According
to legend, the real Saint Nicholas did such good deeds as giving money
to a man's daughters so they could avoid a life of prostitution and
rescuing three children from a crazy butcher. The book 'Saints Preserved: An Encyclopedia of Relics,'
also reveals that jolly ol' St. Nick is also the patron saint of
unmarried women, prisoners, thieves and pawnbrokers. (Apparently Santa's
"naughty or nice" list was a bit more flexible back in the day.)
Bethany Clarke, Getty
'Xmas' doesn't remove Christ from 'Christmas'
Many publications and ads like to
print the innocuous sounding 'Xmas' to prevent them from scaring away
any non-Christian customers. But if they knew the true origin for the
word, they'd probably opt for the full version and call it a day.
According to 'From Adam's Apple to Xmas: An Essential Vocabulary Guide for the Politically Correct,'
the word "Christianity" was spelled "Xianity" as far back as 1100 as a
symbolic syllable for "Christ." The syllable became 'X'temmas' in 1551
and was eventually shortened to "Xmas."
Boston University
Massachusetts Puritans actually banned Christmas by law
Cable news networks love to roll
out stories about the neverending "War on Christmas" by showing how
businesses and governments are trying to be politically correct by
referring to the Christmas season as "the holidays." But there was one
group who nearly did what The Grinch failed to accomplish -- they
stopped Christmas from coming. The early American Puritans of
Massachusetts enacted a law in 1659 that made it illegal to celebrate Christmas since Puritans didn't believe it to be the true date of their savior's birth. The law carried a punishment of five shillings.
Three Lions, Getty
'Jingle Bells' was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas
It's hard to go more than five
minutes without hearing the familiar tune of 'Jingle Bells' running
through your head during the month of December. The truth is that you
should have been hearing it in November. According to Mental_Floss Magazine,
composer James Lord Pierpont wrote the song in the 1850s to play for
his Boston Sunday school class during Thanksgiving as a way to
commemorate the famed Medford sleigh races. Kids and adults loved the
song and eventually changed the lyrics to fit Christmas. No word on
whether the original lyrics contained the line, "Dashing through the
snow, in a one-turkey open sleigh."
Wikipedia
The man who wrote the melody for 'O Holy Night' was Jewish.
While the Christmas classic 'O Holy
Night' may have heavy Christian overtones, one of the men who brought
it to fruition and helped spread its popularity was actually a member of the Jewish faith.
The lyrics for the song were written in 1847 by Placide Cappeau de
Roquemaure in France after a parish priest asked him to pen a song for
his Christmas mass. The wine merchant wasn't a noted churchgoer, but he
was a poet of some renown and was happy to help with a tune. 'Cantique
de Noel' needed a melody and he turned to his friend, composer Adolphe
Charles Adams who wrote operas and became famous for his ballet
interpretation of 'Faust.' The song became a hit with the church, but
when leaders discovered Adams' Jewish faith, they denounced the song and
deemed it unfit for its "total absence of the spirit of religion."
Ian Gavan, Getty
Mistletoe was once believed to be an aphrodisiac
Everyone hopes they'll be able to
steal a kiss from underneath this staple of holiday flora, but some
hoped it would help them get a whole lot more. The poisonous fruit
bearing plant has long been a symbol of virility and fertility, but the Druids actually believed it worked as a physical aphrodisiac.
The spirited use of the plant gathered during the winter solstice
eventually led to the kissing tradition that continues to make drunken
office holiday parties extremely awkward the world over.
Christopher Furlong, Getty
"Mistletoe" has a strange meaning in the Germanic language
Of course, if you knew what the
name "mistletoe" actually meant, you'd be less inclined to stand under
it. The quasi-parasitic plant has a "symbiotic relationship" with a bird
called the mistle thrush. The bird eats the berries, digests the seeds
and then leaves droppings which eventually grow into new mistletoe
plants. Which explains why the Germanic word for "mistletoe" literally means "dung on a twig."
Samir Hussein, Getty
Buying the gifts from the '12 Days of Christmas' will cost you
Sure, things like "Lords 'a
leaping" and "maids 'a milking" might not sound like the most exciting
gifts once could receive. But if you knew the price tag, you’d
immediately regret the lousy gift cards you got for your loved ones.
Every year around the holidays, PNC Wealth Management calculates the costs of the gifts in the song.
The price index for the gifts in the '12 Days of Christmas' went from
$12,673 in 1984 to more than $24,000 for 2011. The most expensive gift
is the "Swans 'a swimming," valued this year at $6,300. That's not
including the medical bills you'd incur trying to wrangle said swans.
ChinaFotoPress, Getty
One of the first commercially sold artificial Christmas trees was made from toilet brushes
Artificial Christmas trees might be
seen as tacky, modern takes on the classic Douglas-fir, but they are
actually much older than you might think. The oldest fake trees date
back to 1886 in London and were made out of green raffia,
the twine that is more commonly used to make grass hula skirts. Other
varieties were made in the latter part of the 19th century in Germany
and used tabletop feathers from geese that were dyed pine-green. Then the Addis Brush Company
used their toilet brush weaving machinery to create pine-like branches
for their fake Christmas trees. They were less flammable, held heavier
decorations and could make your toilet bowl sparkling clean.
Sean Gallup, Getty
Candy canes used to be "pure white"
Few things say Christmas more than those sugary sticks of red and white deliciousness. There was a time, however, when they weren't red and white.(Although
we imagine they were still pretty tasty.) The familiar Christmas treats
started popping up around the 17th century as Europeans started using
trees to celebrate the Christian holiday season and made special foods
to decorate them with. Candy canes first appeared around 1670 when a
cathedral choirmaster would hand out the all-white confections to
children to keep them occupied during Christmas mass. While no one knows
exactly who gave candy canes their stripes, one (unproven) theory has
it that the "J" shape was once meant to stand for Jesus and the three
stripes represent the Holy Trinity. (Red is meant to represent the blood
of Christ. Chew over that the next time you bite into a tasty candy
cane.)
Wikipedia
Teddy Roosevelt banned Christmas trees at the White House
Today, the White House's annual
Christmas tree lighting is a hallowed tradition. But try telling that to
Teddy Roosevelt, who didn’t think the event was very majestic. In fact,
he found it so infuriating that he enacted a total ban on putting up a tree in the White House during his term. In fact, in 1902, Roosevelt's son Archie snuck his own Christmas tree into the house
which he hid in a closet. Was the 26th President a Scrooge? Nope, just
an avid outdoorsmen and conservationist who found deforestation
revolting.
Vittorio Zunino Celotto, Getty
Jesus was actually born in a cave
The familiar scene of a manger
filled with animals as the baby Jesus enters the world pops up in front
of every church even before Christmas has a chance to start. However,
it’s more likely that Jesus came into the world from a cave. According to the gospel of Luke,
the shepherds that helped find shelter for Mary to give birth kept
their flock in a cave. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is built
over the cave (dubbed "The Grotto of the Nativity") where Jesus is
believed to have been born.
Alex Wong, Getty
Christmas wasn't an official holiday in America until 1870
The holiday might seem like an
ancient tradition steeped in history, but it's much younger than you
might think. Christmas didn't became an official federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
The holiday mostly got its start in Pagan roots as an excuse for
drunken revelry, which wasn't appealing to the strict Christian
Puritans. Early in America's birth,
some states started recognizing Christmas and a lobby started for a
national holiday for Thanksgiving and Christmas to strengthen the
nation's unity.
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