How Santa Got His Suit: A Reflection on the Political Origins of the Modern Santa Claus
Santa Claus in Camp(via Smithsonian Magazine)
Story by Bella Wexler, illustrations by Thomas Nast via Smithsonian Magazine
The concept of St. Nicholas goes back centuries. But, believe it or not, the plump man dressed in red that we have come to associate with “Santa Claus” is relatively new. In fact, Santa was actually born through a political cartoonist’s pen on the cover of a United States Civil War era, abolitionist magazine. That’s right! Before Father Christmas was jingling sleigh bells and sliding down chimneys, he was handing out presents to Union soldiers, symbolizing the crusade for racial equality.
The scene for Santa’s new image debut was set in the 19th century when the strictly religious interpretation of Christmas took a materialistic turn. This shift was caused by the Industrial Revolution giving birth to a new middle class who possessed enough expendable income to purchase gifts. When the US Civil War broke out in 1861, the Christmas spirit was kept alive via handmade gifts on the homefront and makeshift tree decorations on the warfront.
Enter Thomas Nast.
From the moment he set foot in New York, this young Bavarian immigrant was enveloped in a world where a picture was truly worth a thousand words. In a city bustling with global immigrants who were often limited in their English literacy, Nast revolutionized American journalism by fathering its first significant political cartoons. He eventually landed a job for Harper's Weekly where he built an iconic career spanning the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. During this time, he filled cover after cover of Harper’s Weekly with illustrative mockery of former president Andrew Jackson, advocacy against discrimination towards Chinese immigrants, establishment of the donkey and elephant as symbols of the Democratic and Republican parties, and fearless exposure of William “Boss” Tweed’s infamous political corruption. Nast’s persuasive work radically shaped the Civil War, Reconstruction Era, and American Gilded Age. Instrumental in promoting the candidacy of both Abraham Lincoln and his successor Ulysses S. Grant for the presidency, Thomas Nast was known for creating a new branch of accessible journalism whose visual nature helped sway illiterate voters. His art paved the way for generations of socially aware sketches to come.
Merry Old Santa Claus(via Smithsonian Magazine)
Between all of his politically significant endeavors, Thomas Nast hardly had time for playful doodling. Of his 33 Harper's Weekly illustrations depicting Santa Claus, most served as propaganda. The very first (pictured above) actually portrayed Santa Claus decked out in a suit of stars and stripes while distributing gifts in a Union camp. In his hand was a puppet resembling Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Even the famous “Merry Old Santa Claus” portrait showcasing a rosy-cheeked Santa bearing a sack of toys in his classic red suit was born of political motivation. Upon closer inspection of this illustration, it becomes clear that the sack on Santa’s back is an army backpack and the toys in his arms include a Trojan Horse to criticize government treachery and a pocket watch symbolizing time running out. In this way, the modern Santa’s very creation was an act of defiance against unfair military wages. With these cartoons and more, Nast harnessed the joy surrounding Christmas of the new era and embodied it in the image of a jolly Santa Claus. But, he didn’t set out just to give St. Nick an enduring makeover; he endeavored to claim Santa Claus as a mascot for the Union and all it stood for.
In the end, although Thomas Nast’s work is the first instance in which Americans have capitalized off of the sentimentality surrounding Santa Claus, it is hardly the last. In our contemporary society, for example, Thomas Nast’s drawings of Santa Claus evoke connections to the classic Coca-Cola ads featuring the same red suit and rosy cheeks.
One thing is certainly clear: from freeing slaves to selling soda, Santa Claus has had quite the career. The inception of his aesthetic at the hands of immigrant abolitionist Thomas Nast has left a lasting imprint throughout history, human rights, and American material culture.
Works Cited
“A Figure of Justice Protects the Chinese Immigrant · SHEC: Resources for Teachers.” Herb.Ashp.Cuny.Edu, herb.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/637. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.
Boissoneault, Lorraine. “A Civil War Cartoonist Created the Modern Image of Santa Claus as Union Propaganda.” Smithsonian, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Dec. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/civil-war-cartoonist-created-modern-image-santa-claus-union-propaganda-180971074/.
“Did Coca-Cola Create Santa Claus? | The Coca-Cola Company.” Www.Coca-Colacompany.com, www.coca-colacompany.com/faqs/did-coca-cola-invent-santa#:~:text=Coca%2DCola%20did%20not%20create%20the%20legend%20of%20Santa%20Claus.&text=But%20in%201931%2C%20Coca%2DCola.
Gopnik, Adam. “THE MAN WHO INVENTED SANTA CLAUS.” The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 1997, www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/12/08/the-man-who-invented-santa-claus. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.
“In Memoriam--Our Civil Service as It Was / Th. Nast.” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3c00254/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2020.
“Massachusetts Historical Society | Thomas Nast: A Life in Cartoons.” Www.Masshist.org, www.masshist.org/features/thomasnast.
