A Santa suit is a suit worn by a person portraying the

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...

ary figure

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

. The modern American version of the suit can be attributed to the work of

Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a sharp critic of William M. Tweed, "Boss" Tweed and the T ...

for ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper (publisher), Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many su ...

'' magazine, although it is often thought that

Haddon Sundblom Haddon Hubbard "Sunny" Sundblom (June 22, 1899 – March 10, 1976) was an American artist of Swedish and Finnish descent and best known for the images of Santa Claus he created for The Coca-Cola Company. Sundblom's friend Lou Prentice was th ...

designed the suit in his advertising work for

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...

. Sundblom's work did standardize the western image of Santa, and popularized the image of the red suit with white fur trim. This has become the image of the American Santa, while in some European countries where

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

remains popular, the outfit worn is closer to religious clothing, including a Bishop's

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

History

The first appearance of a modern

, complete with what we consider to be the Santa suit was in drawings by

. Nast's original drawings were of a small Santa who could slide down chimneys, but his later works made him full size. He was also the first to draw Santa wearing a red suit, a fur-lined stocking cap, and a wide belt with a large buckle. Prior to Nast's work, Santa's outfit was tan in color, and it was he that changed it to red, although he also drew Santa in a green suit. This change is often attributed to the work of

, who drew images of Santa in advertising for the

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Company since 1931. Although Sundblom's work certainly changed the perception of Santa Claus, the red suit was shown on the covers of ''

'' at least forty years before his work for the soda company was published. The Coca-Cola Company itself has attributed the red color of the suit to Nast's earlier work. Prior to the Coca-Cola advertising, the image of Santa was in a state of flux. He was portrayed in a variety of forms, including both the modern forms and in some cases as a

gnome A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

. It was Sundblom's work which standardised the form of Santa to the earlier Nast work, including the red suit outfit.

Design

There are regional differences in the type of suit that

wears. Typically in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, he wears a white fur trimmed red jacket and pants with a broad buckled belt, a matching hat, and black boots. In Continental European countries such as the Low Countries or Austria, with

still remaining popular, the outfit is closer to that of the saint, being a long robe and a Bishop's

References

External links

{{commons category, Santa Claus costumes Costume design Suits (clothing) Santa Claus

History

Design

See also

References

External links