Exactly! Illustrator/political cartoonist Thomas Nast deserves a big share of the credit for this concept. He was drawing Santa Claus cartoons for Harper’s Weekly from the early 1860s. His rendition was in turn inspired by the description in the “Visit from Saint Nicholas” (“'Twas the Night Before Christmas”) first published forty years earlier. That said, the Sundblom Santa did have an enormous cultural impact, in America at least. And illustrators are still copying his stuff today.
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“The Battle for Christmas” is a great little history. Essentially, Christmas in the US was a Bacchanalia that featured the poor and working class demanding “figgy pudding” and nips of booze by marching right up to the doors of the rich and demanding it. “We won’t go until we get some, we won’t go until we get some, we won’t go until we get some, so bring it right here!” It was kind of like trick o treat, but with more booze and veiled threats.
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I don’t know what fired up that little sprite boy but I think I’d like to try some. That kid has a buzz going for sure. Maybe he got into some of the left-over coca leaves and had jsut shitloads of energy.
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Hey now, I kind of like that one where the protagonist leaves the hustle and bustle of her big city job, reunites with the small-town one-that-got-away, and realizes what’s really important in time for Christmas.
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The 13-year-old asks, “is that real cause that’s cool”
The one where the big city guy she’s been dating for years tries to keep her from leaving for good by proposing to her? If she accepts, she later realizes small town former boyfriend is her soulmate - even though she hasn’t seen him for at least a decade. So breaking up with big city guy to marry her small town old flame is really the best thing for everyone.
This is what happened in the Hallmark movie writer’s room when one disagreed…
…the rest fell in line after that:
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My brother’s handiwork from a few years back.
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We should probably blame late stage capitalism, not just the advertisers.
That’s the name I was trying to remember, thanks! Read about him a couple of weeks ago, but forgot to bookmark.
Interesting take on the subject:
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“ 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 St. Nicholas stories is the time 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.”
“ St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New Yorknewspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick’s Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society’s annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace.
In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York .
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Let’s call it End Stage Capitalism, because it won’t end soon enough…
#TaxTheRich
#TaxTheChurches
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