It seems that Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas, evolved with
various cultures over time: The Greeks
knew him as Poseidon, god of the sea; the Romans changed his name to Neptune . Early
European Christianity drew on these images of this powerful sea god, the
benevolent Christ child, and the notion that children should be good
Christians, and called him Hagios Nikolaos (Latin for Saint Nicholas). There doesn’t seem to be proof that there was
an actual person named Nicholas.
Saint Nicholas, protector of sailors and schoolchildren,
gradually became a rescuer and benefactor who rewarded children everywhere so
long as they were properly behaved, did their studies, and said their
catechism.
The name of Santa Claus came from the Dutch who, when they first
came to America and settled
in New Amsterdam (New York ),
pronounced Saint Nicholas “Sinterklass,” aka Santa Claus.
How did Santa’s
appearance evolve? The answer is an
American one: In 1809, New York writer Washington Irving (“The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow”) wrote a series of satirical works referred to as “The
Knickerbocker Tales.” In these “‘Tales,”
St. Nicholas is promoted as the patron saint of New York society. Riding over tops of trees and bringing
presents to children, Irving refers to him as small, elfish, with a pipe, and
capable of sliding down chimneys.
By 1821, New York
printer William Gilley put forth a poem about “Santeclaus” who dressed all in fur
and drove a sleigh pulled by one reindeer.
Clement Clark Moore—New York, 1823,
wrote the classic poem, “Twas The Night Before Christmas” a defining image for
Santa and his swift team of reindeer, now totaling eight.
According to Snopes.com, Santa remained elfin until about
1841, when J.W. Parkinson of Philadelphia
hired a man to dress as Santa for his mercantile, and climb down a chimney
outside his shop—the first time Santa is recorded as a full-sized person, and
connected with retailing.
In 1863, the cartoons of Thomas Nast were presented in
“Harper’s Weekly.” Santa got a beard,
fur from head to foot, and his first red suit; George P. Webster, who wrote copy
for Nast’s drawings, gave Saint Nicholas the North Pole as his home.
By 1885, when Louis Prang of Boston, an illustrator of
Christmas cards, chose red over all the other Santa suit colors (green, white,
purple, brown, blue), Saint Nicholas took on the style and appearance that he has
today.
There are those who think that Santa Claus, in his famous
red suit with white fur, was a figment of Coca Cola’s corporately colored
imagination. Nope. During the 1930’s, the era of the Great
Depression, an illustrator named Haddon Sundblom did a drawing of Santa holding
a bottle of Coca Cola as a marketing idea.
It was an instant success, galvanizing the notion of Santa’s already red
suit, and also reaping excellent rewards for Coke. But the colorful image of Santa Claus was
cemented long before the 1930’s.
What about the Santa
suit today? For one jolly old soul,
this multi-million dollar business sells hundreds of thousands of garments per
year. There are over 25,000 Santa suit
purchasing sites online, alone. It’s
mostly seasonal, but with sales occurring year round. Volume wise, Santa suits are second only to
Halloween in the costume/uniform business.
Halco is one of the 2 largest Santa suit manufacturers in
the U.S. “We’ve been in business since 1945,” says principal,
Terri Greenberg. “We produce 52,000
suits per year. We used to have 72
fulltime stateside sewing operators.
Now, we have ten.” What used to
be an American business is going more and more offshore because American
manufacturers can’t compete with the pricing.
Terry, herself, lives in the Far East
part time, in order to maintain quality control at her plants both here and
abroad.
Shari McConahay, co-owner of retail SantaSuits.com,
purchases from wholesale manufacturers like Terri. Shari is adamant
about buying American and feels strongly that American suits are better made;
with offshore garments, quality control is a mixed bag. Her
business has been selling the Santa uniform since the early ’70’s. Shari dedicates
20% of her company’s 18,000 sq. ft. warehouse space for the Santa suits, alone.
A Santa suit can be purchased retail anywhere from $27.95,
for a one-size-fits-all stretch, to a plush satin-lined fully trimmed out
custom garment at $700.00. With
accoutrements, such as padding, beards, eyebrows, glasses, boots, belts,
gloves, etc, that’s about $1,000 for the complete suit. Depending on the vendor, profits can be plus
or minus 100% above cost.
The costumes can come in red, burgundy, white, green and
even blue. But red is by far and away
the best seller. There are variations of
style and quality with coats, hoods, brocade, and period pieces—in polyester, flannel,
felt, vinyl, leather, satin, velvet, velour, or plush fur fabrics.
“There are those who purchase for parties, office
gatherings, and family scenes. Then,
there are the ‘professionals,’ who work the malls, hospitals and charitable
organizations, photography displays, parades, and street corners,” according to
retailer, Larry Meidberg, at Clicket.com.
There’s something special about a uniform that commands both
kindness and respect. Like true elves, all
three companies are working 15 hour days to get everyone suited up in time for
the Christmas season. “For many Santas
it’s like a calling,” said Shari . “Every year they will spruce up their
accessories or their uniforms, so that they are perfect. Children are the first to tell you if
something is wrong.”
