Thomas Nast portrayal of Santa in 1881.

By DARLA MCCAMMON

Lakeland Art Association

WARSAW — We first hear about Sinterklaas or Sint Nikolaas long ago. A 4th century Saint from an area now known as Turkey was known for secretly giving gifts. He was known for depositing pennies in the little wooden shoes that were left for him to fill on the doorsteps of Dutch homes. He was revered for his generosity which included giving dowries to impoverished young women in order to prevent their having to become prostitutes.

The parallels of our Santa Claus to this long ago St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, has built up over the centuries. Sinterclaas carried a long staff, rode over the housetops, not on reindeer but a white horse, and even then his mischievous little elves traveled with him and checked out whether children were being good or bad by listening down the chimneys!

Many other cultures had similar folklore that can be attributed to an image that eventually made up the character we now call Santa Claus. Probably the earliest example in the history of England was in a Christmas Carol referring to “Sire Christmas.”

It was not till the early 1800s that Dutch settlers brought their Sinterklaas across the ocean to America where in 1810 the New York Historical Society hosted a St. Nicholas anniversary dinner. A year prior to this, Washington Irving had described St. Nicholas in a satire he wrote in which Santa became a jolly fellow who flew in a sleigh pulled by reindeer and dropped gifts down the chimney.

From this beginning, Santa Claus was well on his way to becoming a familiar figure in American culture. Clement Moore wrote the poem we all know so well and in his Night Before Christmas added all the reindeer names, talked about the prancing and pawing of each little hoof, up on the roof, and created the tradition of hanging stockings on the fireplace mantle, and of course Santa was himself a jolly elf.

Soon various artists began attempting to depict our friendly fellow. Did you know in some of the earlier drawings of Santa his suit was shown in such colors as green, blue and even yellow? It was not until famous cartoonist Thomas Nast portrayed Santa in an 1881 illustration that Santa began to take on the personality and lovable characteristics we enjoy today. We are going to learn more about the life and influence of Nast in one of the next weeks.

Meantime, our wonderful Norman Rockwell became the one artist who contributed the most to the endearing and lovable Santa Claus we all recognize today. His Saturday Evening Post paintings were influential and loved by the world. They always told a great story.

Following Rockwell, one other artist endeared us to Santa. Remember all the Coca Cola ads with our jolly, smiling elfin Santa holding a frosty bottle of Coca Cola? Those great paintings were done by an artist named Haddon Sundblom in the 1930s and 1940s. The US. Government even promoted Santa during World War I and hired various artists to depict santa, soldiers and pleas for peace. They did the same during World War II with Santa in full military uniform promoting our efforts to bring peace..

Santa Claus represents generosity, joy, kindness, peace, and love. I choose to believe in these things. Do you? Merry Christmas!

Upcoming and Current Events:

• Jennifer Caudill exhibit at Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery is open through December. Open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. New Artist the first week of January.
• LAA gallery is closed for the Season.

For more information on topics in this column, please contact Darla McCammon at [email protected] or (574) 527-4044.