Communication TwentyFourSeven
  • Communication Blog
  • Buy My Book
  • My Bio
  • Contact Me
  • Free Lessons!

The (de)Evolution of St. Nick

12/25/2013

Comments

 
Picture
Used with Permission from Microsoft
“Santa just is white...Santa was a historical figure." Megyn Kelly, Fox News

Boy did that statement create quite the ruckus! For one, nothing gets us Americans into the holiday spirit more than a good old political or religious debate. As if those two topics aren't exciting enough, we just love to throw in a little race to make the mix just a tad bit spicier. Is Santa white or not? Let’s get to the bottom of this right now.

First things first. I know this will shock you, but folks I feel it’s my obligation to let you know Santa is … Not. Real. (audible gasp)! I know, I know. It’s a travesty. How dare I suggest such a ridiculous thing! But really, the mythical figure we know and love called Santa Claus, is not actually a real person. He doesn't really live in the North Pole. He doesn't really have a host of slaves, I mean elves, at his disposal to make tons of toys. He doesn't really have a bunch of reindeer that take him to houses all over the world to leave presents for little boys and little girls. Well, just the good ones. The bad ones are just shit out of luck. But I digress.

Santa may not be real, but the original St. Nick, from whom the legend of Santa Claus sprang, was in fact real. And he was, in fact, NOT white, but he is now.

Just for now, let’s suspend the romantic notions and legends and lore and just take a look at the facts and the timeline of St. Nicholas shall we? You know what I mean. The stuff that’s actually verifiable. Let’s work our way back.



American Santa 2.0 (aka) Coca-Cola Santa / Shopping Mall Santa 
Picture
Picture courtesy: Coca-Cola. Artist: Haddon Sundblom, 1931.

Coke has been selling us our current image of Santa since the 1920s. According to the Coca-Cola website, their version of Santa has undergone several renditions, but the essence has pretty much stayed the same. The first Santa’s followed closely to the skinnier, elf-like versions that were more popular in the 20s thanks to Thomas Nast. Their ads were so popular from the beginning that the Coke Santa became a holiday staple. In the 30s, the artist, Haddon Sundblom, took his vision from a popular poem you’ve probably heard of, “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” and this version stuck. But let’s talk more about Nast.




American Santa 1.0 – Fat Santa from the North Pole 
Picture
Picture courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Red suit trimmed in white fur. Fur trimmed hat. Long white beard. Red nose. White complexion. Glasses.  Where in the world did this image come from? In 1881 a political cartoonist by the name of Thomas Nast created him. He even placed him in the North Pole and gave him a wife. But somebody had to make all the toys that he was giving away, hence the elves were also born.

We can mainly attribute our modern day version of Santa to Clement Clark Moore. Sound familiar? He should. He was the guy who wrote “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” in 1823. Moore described Santa as a “jolly old elf” who was “dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot” with a “bundle of toys he had flung on his back.” And then we get a very specific description, “His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf.”



The Dutch/American Version

Picture
Picture courtesy: Free License
Sinterklaas was the Dutch version of St. Nicholas, who was not only the patron saint of children, but also known as the patron saint of sailors. His legend of kindness to children and the poor spread throughout Europe.  He was arguably Europe’s most popular saint. Although he was not officially canonized by the Catholic church, he has been revered for his generosity and life of selflessness since his death in the 4th century. For the Dutch, his image became one that was merged with the god, Odin, which accounts for many of the “whiter” features attributed to Santa today. You’ll notice some physical similarities. When the Dutch settled in America in the early 1600s, they brought the tradition of celebrating Sinterklaas with them.  

The Original St. Nick 
Picture
Picture courtesy: Wikimedia Commons. Russian icon depicting St Nicholas with scenes from his life. Late 1400s or early 1500s. National Museum, Stockholm.
Turns out St. Nicholas was born sometime around 260-280 AD in the Greco-Roman town of Patara, an eastern Mediterranean port, in the country of Lycia (today known as Turkey).

Hmmm. He was a Turk. Okay, technically he was Greek. Mediterranean. Whatever. The point is, he definitely would not have looked like the jolly old St. Nick who is lovingly plastered all over the media today. Would he? Unfortunately, all of the images history has given us of St. Nick have been artists’ interpretations of the saint. Thank goodness we live in the time of technology. Research was completed in the 1950s as well as after the new millennium, after the saint’s bones were temporarily removed from their crypt in Bari, Italy, and reconstructed. Of course, the technology in the 50s was very limited, thus we were still limited to sketches of the researcher’s idea of St. Nicholas’s image. Thankfully, with today’s technology available, we can get an idea of how the real St. Nick looked. Dr. Caroline Wilkinson, a forensic pathologist, was able to use 3D scans in order to re-create the face of St. Nicholas in 2004. The fascinating results were featured on BBC as well as The Discovery Channel. 



What the researchers could gather: he would have been just over 5 feet tall (short, even for his time) with a slender build. Given the geographical area, he would have had the darker features (olive-toned skin and brown eyes) typical of the Greeks of that time. It’s known that St. Nicholas lived into his 70s, so gray hair and a gray beard are assumed.

So, after a long journey through multiple countries and cultures, from man to saint, from skinny to fat, from olive-skinned to Caucasian, here is the original St. Nicholas. 

Picture
Picture courtesy: Image Foundry Studios
Comments

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture
    Photo by La Bella Vita Photography

    Jennifer Furlong

    Jennifer Furlong has 25 years’ experience in the communication field and teaches communication and public speaking courses in the Savannah area. She earned a B.A. and M.A. in Communication from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. She currently resides in Richmond Hill, Ga. with her family of canines, felines, and humans. Let's be social! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter. Just look for Professor SpeechLady. See you in cyberspace.


    Get my new book available on Amazon!

    Picture

    Archives

    September 2019
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Previous Articles

    All
    10 Leadership Lessons From The Villains We Love To Hate
    10 Life Lessons From Villainous Vixens
    3 Steps To Successful Persuasion
    5 Steps To Being A Jackass
    5 Steps To Listen Like A Jackass
    After The Interview
    And You Thought You Were Done. Think Again.
    A Poem For You
    Back To School
    But Why Do I Gotta Take A Speech Class?
    Don't Screw Up The Interview
    Etiquette
    Get Over Yourself. It's Not About You. It's About Them.
    How Can I Sound More Professional
    How Do You Find The Silver Lining?
    How To Use Social Media Like A Jackass
    Hypocrite Society
    I Have A Dream
    Infographics
    Interviewing For Adults Returning To Work
    Interviewing For Teens
    Intrapersonal Communication
    Is
    Lessons From Leathernecks
    Oops! I Did It Again...
    Perception
    Persuasion
    Research
    Respect Has Gone Down The Toilet.
    Rhetoric
    Santa Clause
    Self-Talk
    Sticks & Stones & More BS We Should Not Teach Our Kids
    The Blog On Not Having Time To Blog
    The (de) Evolution Of St. Nick
    The Goal & The Journey
    The Original Santa
    U.S. Government Inefficiency
    Vocal Lessons
    What Do Do Before The Interview
    What I Learned From A Buddhist Zen Master
    When Bad Things Happen
    Who Is To Blame For This Mess?
    Workplace Conflict: Go For A Timeout

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.