However, it was not until the late part of the 19th century that the character adopted the red suit that was popular for Santa Claus in America, and so for much of the Victorian period, Father Christmas was often green.
In fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he's known for today.
Prior to Nast's work, Santa's outfit was tan in color, and it was he that changed it to red, although he also drew Santa in a green suit. This change is often mistakenly attributed to the work of Haddon Sundblom, who drew images of Santa in advertising for the Coca-Cola Company since 1931.
The tradition of him wearing red began in the 1870s with the American cartoonist Thomas Nast, who introduced the red suit and cap, white fur lining and buckled black belt.
The original British Father Christmas, as depicted in 17th century, sported a beard, but it wasn't white, and his clothing colour was green, not red. And we can thank Scandinavian myths for his reindeer pulled sled, though the red nosed reindeer leader, 'Rudolph', was another American advertising creation.
St Nicholas, who was the real historical figure who Santa Claus is based on, was originally seen as wearing red, since that was the colour of the religious robes he would have worn for his role as the Bishop of Myra in Turkey in the 3rd Century.
Slowly, from the 1900s onwards, Father Christmas started wearing green and white less and less often on Christmas cards. Eventually, his attire became exclusively red – thanks, in part, to Coca Cola's iconic 1930s advertisements.
German immigrants brought Santa Claus figurines to Ohio in the 1800s and once like the blue Santa were made locally. The director of the American Toy Marvel Museum says the blue color was traditional for the German version of St. Nicholas.
In truth, "ho ho ho" doesn't mean anything. It's actually just the sound of Santa Claus's laughter. It might sound strange to us to hear someone laughing like this, since most people's laughter sounds more like "ha ha ha" instead of "ho ho ho".
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St.
The Original St.
Gaunt, bald, barefoot, and decked out in ecclesiastical robes (complete with halo above his head), this version of St. Nicholas looks nothing like the jolly fat man we know as “Santa Claus.” But in fact, this was the first image of the character in the United States.
While Coca-Cola did not create the legend of Santa Claus completely, it is true that Coca-Cola advertising played a big role in shaping the jolly character we know and love today.
The real Saint Nicholas is likely to have had olive skin, dark brown eyes and a wide chin and brow. He stood at 1.68 metres (5ft 6in) and had a broken nose. However, according to the researchers, he did sport white hair and a beard - as was the fashion for 4th century religious leaders.
However, it was not until the late part of the 19th century that the character adopted the red suit that was popular for Santa Claus in America, and so for much of the Victorian period, Father Christmas was often green.
Santa Claus may be popularly known as a white-bearded benefactor with Dutch-English origins, but multiethnic versions of Santa are making the rounds out there too -- illustrating that in an increasingly diverse United States, Santa takes on whatever color you imagine him to be.
A long time ago Father Christmas was shown in clothes of different colours: green, purple, light-blue, navy blue, brown or red. Some illustrations even depict him as a multicolour figure wearing blue trousers, a yellow waistcoat and a red jacket.
Santa Claus in China
The Chinese call Santa Claus sheng dan lao ren, which translates to Old Christmas Man.
Santa is known as 'Sheng dan Lao ren' in Mandarin, which translates as 'Christmas Old Man', and he is seen as a non-religious figure who lives in a fairytale Arctic Christmas Village in China's North Pole.
Peppa Pig calls Santa 'Father Christmas' in the animated series.
Claus (also known as Mrs. Santa Claus or Mrs. Santa) is the legendary wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in Western Christmas tradition.
While some historians argue that he originally dressed in different colors, the fact is that after the bishop, who was known for his generosity and kindness to children, passed away, his legend grew, and that included his scarlet apparel.
Traditional Santas wear bright red fleecy suits, lined with white fur and big black boots to fight off the northern winter. In Australia, it's summer at Christmas time so you're much more likely to see a boardshort wearing Santa on a surfboard.
The song, popular with school-aged kids, explains that Santa's reindeer get a rest while six white boomers (boomer is Aussie slang for a male kangaroo) lead Santa's sleigh through Australia! After all the toys are delivered, they even help a little joey (a baby kangaroo) find his mommy.
Although Santa and Mrs. Claus almost never have children in any of their many depictions, there is at least one Christmas Burlesque musical from 1892 that features Kitty Claus, the daughter of Santa.
Despite these meaningful religious traditions, there's one person we should thank for confirming red and green as Christmas colors: Haddon Sundblom. Never heard of him? He's the guy that Coca-Cola hired to draw a Santa Claus for the company's ads. Until that point, artistic renditions of Santa were never consistent.