Santa Claus

On Christmas EveHeiligabendChristmas Eve, children in Germany and the United States have very different routines. While German kids open presents, North American kids put on their pajamasPyjama, Schlafanzugpajamas and place a plate of cookies and a glass of milk by the fireplaceoffener Kaminfireplace for Santa Claus. Then, they go online to locate the famous Christmas icon on his defining night of the year. 

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD, provides aerial securityLuftraumsicherheitaerial security to the United States and Canada. Each December, it takes on another, more wholesome task: tracking Santa’s journey from the North Pole to homes around the globe. NORAD also manages a hotline where children can call with questions about Santa’s trip. 

Today, Santa is known all over the world. But for much of recent history, he was an exclusively American character. 

In the early 1800s, the Dutch name for St. Nicholas – Sinterklaas – became popular in New York. It was seen as an anti-British symbol in this former Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam, which the British took over in 1664 and renamed New York. Over time, Sinterklaas was anglicized to Santa Claus.

For much of recent history, Santa Claus was an exclusively American character

Then, in 1822, Clement Clarke Moore wrote the famous poem “The Night Before Christmas” – introducing Americans to “a miniature sleighSchlittensleigh and eight tiny reindeerRentierreindeer / With a little old driver so lively and quick” that “he must be St. Nick.” Moore transformed St. Nicholas from a priesthier: Bischofpriest into a merry individual who flew through the sky with gifts.

Decades later, German-born American cartoonist Thomas Nast created Santa’s image. In 1862, during the U.S. civil warBürgerkriegCivil War, he drew a cartoon for Harper’s Weekly magazine in support of the Unionhier: NordstaatenUnion. The Union, led by President Abraham Lincoln, fought the Confederacyhier: SüdstaatenConfederacy, which supported slavery. Nast showed Santa – wearing stars and stripes, like the American flag – distributing gifts to Union troops. 

Nast continued to draw versions of Santa for Harper’s Christmas issues through the 1880s. With each cartoon, he further developed Santa’s modern image in American popular culture. Nast placed Santa’s home at the North Pole, for example, and adapted the idea of “naughtyunartignaughty” and “nice” lists from the European Krampus. Santa’s red hat and suit? Nast created those, too.

Nast died in 1902. In the century that followed, advertisers latch onto sth.etw. übernehmenlatched onto Santa as a marketing tool, and U.S. troops helped spread his image around the world. Santa was responsible for convert sth.etw. umwandelnconverting Christmas from a religious event to an inclusive holiday for all. No matter how popular this legendary figure may be worldwide, Santa Claus remains an American icon.