[thechat] santa question - quickie

Tony Crockford tonyc at boldfish.co.uk
Mon Nov 25 16:30:02 CST 2002


> > Wasn't santa invented in, like, 1920 or something?
>
> The current westernized Santa, the fat man with white beard, was
> invented by the Coca-Cola Bottling company as part of their
> advertising
> campaigns, I believe back in the '20s. Before that, Kris Kringle, the
> European version, tall and thin, was the icon of Christmas....
>
> dex

I beg to differ:

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

from a visit from st Nick, written in 1822 by Clement Clark Moore
1779-1863

Of course the Coca-Cola Santa would never have been a smoker....






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