Santa Claus thru History |
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Rick Helwig
portrays Santa in the First Santa Suit |
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Father Christmas and St. Nicholas had been the major characters used
with the Christmas season. In 1823 a poem, A Visit from St.
Nicholas which was to become a favorite holiday recitation was
published anonymously by Clement Clarke Moore. Years later he
admitted he had written the poem which added much to the character
of Santa Claus.
When the Civil War took soldiers away from their homes and families, the story was a reminder of happier times. Cartoonist Thomas Nast gave Santa Claus a face and persona for soldiers and readers alike. |
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Before photography, newspapers
depended on the artistic talents of their artist and engravers
to show the news to the readers. This full page cartoon ran on the front page, January 3, 1862. It depicts Santa visiting the soldiers during the holiday cease fire. Nast's Christmas cartoon was so popular, it became an annual event at Harper's
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1862 | 1863 | 1864 | 1865 | 1881 | |
Santa changed through the years of the
war. In 1864 Benjamin Hanby wrote the song Up on a Housetop
in the town of New Paris, Ohio. This further
developed the character. In a much later Harper's Weekly,
Nast's Santa shows Moore's influence. Rich Helwig has spent time researching Nast's cartoons and will share this era with us in the Myers Inn Meeting Room at 7:30 Tuesday evening, November 11th. |
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Learn more at http://www.sonofthesouth.net/Original_Santa_Claus.htm |
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(10/21/2014) |
Harper