History of Santa Competition

History of Santa

Read the following article and answer the question to enter the competition and win a fantastic prize.
Put your name, class, and answer in the box in the atrium before Thursday 21st.

• Just like the season of Christmas, the history of the origins of Santa Claus is influenced by the customs and cultures of many countries around the world. This national treasure began in modern day Turkey, sometime around the 4th century AD. It was here that Bishop Nicholas became renowned for his exceptional generosity, especially to the very young. Many years later he became known as Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children.

• As time went on, adults began to dress in memory of Saint Nicholas, dressed in Bishops vestments and carrying a staff, to re-enact the kindness of the saint. They went from house to house, asking if the children who lived there had been well behaved. In response to these visits, the children left their shoes outside the doors of their houses so that next morning they might find them filled with sweets and trinkets.

• The modern representation of the character of Father Christmas was greatly influenced by Thomas Nast, a cartoonist with Harper’s Weekly, who published the first drawing of Santa Claus in 1860. He was a rather pot-bellied figure with white hair and a long beard, dressed in a red robe and wearing a crown of holly.

• Perhaps the most common version of Santa Claus today was brought about by publicity from the Coca Cola Company. They launched an advertising campaign in the 1930's with Santa Claus as the central character. This conception of Santa Claus was produced for them by Haddon Sundblom, who built on the character and costume created by Thomas Nast to produce a cheery, chubby fellow that is still a familiar perception of the mythical Christmas character to millions of people throughout the western world.

In what year did the Coca Cola Company launch their Christmas advertising campaign with Santa Claus as the central character, and have been doing so ever since?