The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

The Santa Claus we all know and love - that big, jolly man in the red suit with a white beard - didn't always look that way. In fact, many people are surprised to learn that prior to 1931, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. He has donned a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin. In fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly  in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he's known for today.

Here, a few other things you may not have realized about the cheerful guy in the red suit.

Santa Has Been Featured in Coke Ads Since the 1920s The  Coca-Cola  Company began its Christmas advertising in the 1920s with shopping-related ads in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post . The first Santa ads used a strict-looking Claus, in the vein of Thomas Nast.

In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department-store Santa in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda fountain, which was located in the department store Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post  in December 1930.

Coca-Cola  Helped Shape the Image of Santa In 1931 the company began placing  Coca-Cola  ads in popular magazines. Archie Lee, the D'Arcy Advertising Agency executive working with The  Coca-Cola  Company, wanted the campaign to show a wholesome Santa who was both realistic and symbolic. So  Coca-Cola  commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus - showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa.

For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem " A Visit From St. Nicholas " (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. (And even though it's often said that Santa wears a red coat because red is the color of  Coca-Cola , Santa appeared in a red coat before Sundblom painted him.)

Sundblom's Santa debuted in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post  and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as in Ladies Home Journal , National Geographic , The New Yorker  and others.

From 1931 to 1964,  Coca-Cola  advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes. The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for  Coca-Cola  advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles.

Sundblom created his final version of Santa Claus in 1964, but for several decades to follow,  Coca-Cola  advertising featured images of Santa based on Sundblom's original works. These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art collection in the company's archives department and have been on exhibit around the world, in famous locales including  the Louvre  in Paris,  the Royal Ontario Museum  in Toronto,  the Museum of Science and Industry  in Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, and the  NK Department Store  in Stockholm. Many of the original paintings can be seen on display at  World of  Coca-Cola   in Atlanta, Ga.

The "New Santa" Was Based on a Salesman

In the beginning, Sundblom painted the image of Santa using a live model - his friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting while looking into a mirror. Finally, he began relying on photographs to create the image of St. Nick.

People loved the 

Coca-Cola  Santa images and paid such close attention to them that when anything changed, they sent letters to the  Coca-Cola  Company. One year, Santa's large belt was backwards (perhaps because Sundblom was painting via a mirror). Another year, Santa Claus appeared without a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus.

The children who appear with Santa in Sundblom's paintings were based on Sundblom's neighbors - two little girls. So he changed one to a boy in his paintings.

The dog in Sundblom's 1964 Santa Claus painting was actually a gray poodle belonging to the neighborhood florist. But Sundblom wanted the dog to stand out in the holiday scene, so he painted the animal with black f ur.

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