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Why is Santa really red?
Santa is the most known character when it comes to the festive season, but can you imagine he doesn't have a red coat?
In fact, his famous red outfit has become so popular around the world that no one stops to ask where it came from on earth.
History of Santa Claus
Santa Claus is based on historical characters, Saint Nicholas.
He is a man whose parents left behind a large sum of money when they died.
Instead of spending all of his money for his pleasure and enjoyment, he used most of that money to help the poor.
They will receive secret gifts from him, and he will eventually be canonized for his generosity.
Santa's colors
When it comes to why Santa is actually red, historians have looked at the saints' attire in the early centuries.
Saint Nicholas lived in the 4th century - the period when their robes were red and white.
Nicholas is said to have dressed in red and white, which may be one of the reasons why our modernized Christmas wears those colors.
Has Santa ever worn another color?
Starting in the 16th century, Father Christmas was introduced to the UK and is the Santa Claus image of the Christmas season.
Like St. Nicholas, he is a character filled with encouragement, goodwill and gifts for everyone to enjoy.
However, Father Christmas wears green rather than red, which is believed to symbolize the coming spring.
Over the years, the Christmas father and Santa Claus have become one, meaning both wearing red shirts.
Thomas Nast, a famous American comic artist, painted a picture of Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862.
The original photos show Santa Claus wearing a tanned outfit, but over the next thirty years it gradually transforms into a red suit.
Santa Claus and Coca-Cola
The chubby and playful Santa we know and love today was first created for a Coca-Cola ad campaign.
In the 1920s, the image of Santa Claus wearing a red coat appeared in magazines and newspapers.
Haddon Sundblom is a man credited with creating modern-day Santa.
He was commissioned by Coca-Cola in 1931, when the Great Depression was going well and really was happening and the company wanted to bring something new.
They asked Sundlom to give a Santa Santa symbolizing Christmas, and is practically and ties with customers.
Sundblom is inspired by the 1822 poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ by Clement Clark Moore.
In this poem, Santa is described as Jolly and plump, with pink cheeks, sparkling eyes and dimples.
However, the red coat Santa is wearing is definitely nothing new at this point.
Sundblom not only has the cloak of St. Nicholas to copy, but can also refer to the works of Thomas Nash, which show the red mantle before the late 19th century.
Sundblom stopped illustrating Santa in 1964, but Coca-Cola still uses our favorite Christmas character to promote their popular drink.
