The history of the Xmas celebration, Saint Nicholas, Kris Krimble,
Santa Claus, and Father Christmas.
Timeline 0001-1968
0001 The first Christmas, according to calendar-maker Dionysus Exiguus
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0300 (Circa) The first well-known gift-giver, Saint Nicholas who
lived in Myra (now Turkey). Some years later he became a bishop,
hence the bishop's hat or miter, long flowing gown, white beard
and red cape. More:
25 Dec 0336 The first recorded celebration of Christmas on this
day took place in Rome. By this year Dec 25 was established in the
Liturgy of the Roman Church as the birthday of Jesus. More:
1551 The term 'Xmas' was used at least this early for Christmas.
The short form derived from the Greek letters 'XP', chi and rho,
as an abbreviation of the Greek symbol for Christ. More:
Dec 1773 A New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families
had gathered to honor the anniversary of Saint Nicholas's death.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, 'Sinter
Klaas', a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas).
It was reported again in 1774. More:
1804 The New York Historical Society was founded with Nicholas as
its patron saint, its members reviving the Dutch tradition of Saint
Nicholas as a gift-bringer. More:
1804 John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society,
distributed woodcuts of Saint Nicholas at the society's annual meeting.
The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images
including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace.
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1809 Washington Irving, gave Americans their first detailed information
about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. His 'History of New York',
published under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described
the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by Black Peter)
each Eve of Saint Nicholas. More:
1810 When Washington Irving became a member of the New York Historical
Society, the annual Saint Nicholas Day dinner festivities included
a woodcut of the traditional Nicholas figure (tall, with long robes)
accompanied by a Dutch rhyme about 'Sancte Claus' (in Dutch, 'Sinterklaas').
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1812 Washington Irving revised his 'History of New York', adding
details about Nicholas 'riding over the tops of the trees, in that
selfsame waggon wherein he brings his yearly presents to children'.
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1820 (Circa) in parts of Europe such as Germany, Nicholas the gift-giver
had been superseded by a representation of the infant Jesus, the
Christ child, or 'Christkindlein'. The Christkindlein accompanied
Nicholas-like figures with other names, such as 'Père Nöel'
in France, or he travelled with a dwarf-like helper, known in some
places as 'Pelznickel', or Nicholas with furs. 'Belsnickle' in German-American
dialect, was represented by adults who dressed in furry disguises,
visited while children were still awake, and put on a scary performance.
Gifts found by children the next morning were credited to Christkindlein,
who had come while everyone was asleep. More:
1821 William Gilley, a New York printer, issued a poem about a 'Santeclaus'
who dressed all in fur and drove a sleigh pulled by one reindeer.
Gilley's 'Sante', however, was very short. More:
1822 Clement Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister, wrote a long Christmas
poem for his three daughters entitled, 'An Account of a Visit from
St. Nicholas'. Moore's poem, which he was initially hesitant to
publish due to the frivolous nature of its subject, is largely responsible
for our modern image of Santa Claus as a 'right jolly old elf' with
a portly figure and the supernatural ability to ascend a chimney
with a mere nod of his head. Moore gave Saint Nicholas eight named
reindeer. Moore's Nicholas was still a small figure described as
a 'miniature sleigh' with a 'little old driver'. More:
1823 The beginnings of the Santa we know today when Clement C. Moore's
'A Visit from St. Nicholas' was published. He described Saint Nicholas
as 'chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf'. More:
1841 The modern man-sized version of Santa Claus became the dominant
image derived from: Saint Nicholas the elf-like gift bringer described
by Moore, and a friendlier 'Kriss Kringle' amalgam of the Christkindlein
and Pelznickel figures. More:
1842 The Christmas card became popular. More:
1843 Charles Dickens publishes 'A Christmas Carol', in England.
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1863 Thomas Nast, political cartoonist, created a different illustration
each year of 'Santa' for the cover of Harper's Weekly. His Santa
was a plump, jolly old fellow with a white beard and smoking a long
stemmed pipe. More:
1863 During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln asked
Thomas Nast to do an illustration showing Santa with the Union troops.
Many historians say this was one of the most demoralizing moments
for the Confederate army... seeing Santa side with the North. More:
1866 Thomas Nast's 1866 montage entitled 'Santa Claus and His Works'
established Santa as a maker of toys. More:
1869 Thomas Nast's book 'Santa Claus and His Works' collected new
Nast drawings with a poem by George P. Webster that identified the
North Pole as Santa's home. Although Nast never settled on one size
for his Santa figures, his 1881 'Merry Old Santa Claus' drawing
is close to the modern-day Santa image. More:
1885 Louis Prang, a Boston printer, introduced the English custom
of Christmas cards to America. More:
1885 Louis Prang, a Boston printer, issued a card featuring a red-suited
Santa. The chubby Santa with a red suit began to replace the fur-dressed
Belsnickle image and the multicolored Santas. More:
1890 (Circa) late 19th century. Santa was portrayed as both large
and small. He was usually round but sometimes of normal or slight
build and he dressed in furs (like Belsnickle) or cloth suits of
red, blue, green, or purple. More:
1890 (Circa) The Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free
Christmas meals they provided to needy families. They began the
practice of dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and
sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations.
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25 Dec 1914 Unofficial Christmas truce declared by soldiers along
the Western Front during WWI. More:
1925 Since grazing reindeer would not be possible at the North Pole,
newspapers revealed that Santa Claus in fact lived in Finnish Lapland.
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1927 On Finnish public radio, 'Uncle Markus' (Markus Rautio) who
hosted the popular 'Children's hour' , revealed the great secret
for the first time: Santa Claus lives on Lapland's Korvatunturi
(Ear Fell). More:
1930 (Circa 1930s) The burgeoning Coca-Cola company was still looking
for ways to increase sales of their product during winter, then
a slow time of year for the soft drink market. They turned to a
talented commercial illustrator named Haddon Sundblom, who created
a series of memorable drawings that associated the figure of a larger
than life, red-and-white garbed Santa Claus with Coca-Cola. The
success of this advertising campaign has helped fuel the (false)
legend that Coca-Cola actually invented the image of the modern
Santa Claus, to promote the company colors. More:
1931 Haddon Sundblom begins creating a new Santa each Christmas
for Coca-Cola advertisements (1931-1964) that appeared world-wide
on the back covers of Post and National Geographic magazines. This
is the Santa had a red suit trimmed with white fur, leather boots
and belt, long white beard and a pack of toys slung onto his back.
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1939 Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red and shiny nose, was
invented by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company.
Technically as Rudolph is always shon with antlers, he must be a
girl, as all male reindeer loose their antlers during winter! More:
1942 Bing Crosby records "White Christmas" one of the
greatest selling records ever. More:
1958 The first voice from space; a recorded Christmas message by
Eisenhower. More:
1968 Frank Borman's transmits a Christmas reading while orbiting
Moon.
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