Santa Claus Christmas Blog Santa.net

Santa.net will assemble as much information as we can about the North Pole (not spelled “Northpole” by the way.) Blogs that discuss the North pole are all around. This is such an exciting topic. There will be a LOT more coming! Here are just a few to start with:

• Making the North Pole accessible: North Pole Now Wheelchair Accessible
• Personal stories about the North Pole: I felt like living in North Pole
• It sounds brrrrrr! Swimming at the North Pole?
• The receding of the Arctic ice is bringing a new territorial competition to claim the North Pole. Claiming the North Pole
• An ice free North Pole? Following last years dramatic ice sheet retreat in the Arctic the world’s media has got very excited about the possibility of an ice free North Pole this year.
• How a Black Man discovered the North Pole: Black explorer Matthew Henson was the co-discoverer of the North Pole. In fact, he planted the American flag at the Pole in 1909. In recognition of his great achievement, his body was interred at Arlington National Cemetery at the direction of President Ronald Reagan. Henson’s partner on the North Pole mission was U.S. Navy Commander Robert E. Peary.

And by the way:

Santa Claus has a special interest in keeping the North Pole healthy. This special section of the Santa Claus Christmas Blog is dedicated exclusively to Santa Claus’ North Pole Home. And yes, because yougsters should learn to spell correctly, it’s important to mention that just like “Newyork” should be spelled “New York” and “Sandiego”, “Losangeles” and “Newdeli” ann deserve to be spelled correctly, we should give the North Pole the respect it deserves to and spell the name Santa’s homeland correctly.

This North Pole section will discuss:

• The geographical uniqueness of the North Pole
• The importance of keeping the earth green and its impact on global warming
• How global warming affects the North Pole and the glaciers on the earth
• The adventure and allure of explorers of North Pole as an historical challenge
• What is the North Pole really like today
• The tradition and history of Santa Claus at the North Pole

We welcome reader participation and we will continue to include interesting and relavent stories on these subjects throughout the year.

Santa, St. Nicholas, and a Barrel of Brine (by Laura Orem)

St. Nicholas is venerated in both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition. Sailors revere him as a patron saint because he is credited with saving the life of a mariner who fell overboard in a terrible storm. He is associated with gift-giving because of his renowned generosity throughout his lifetime - he had a penchant for tossing bags of gold at the needy and threadbare.

St. Nicholas rescuing sailors in a storm (from the Duc du Berry’s Book of Hours)

Nicholas is also frequently portrayed as the patron saint of children, and, like a lot of religious stories, how he got the honorarium is fairly grisly. According to one story, during a terrible famine, a butcher who ran out of pork decided to make up the shortfall by killing and pickling three small children in a barrel of brine. St. Nicholas, no fool he, figured out the butcher’s foul plot and, through prayer, miraculously brought the children back to life (presumably pieced back together correctly). What happened to the evil butcher is not elucidated, but we can hope he got his just desserts, as it were.

St. Nicholas and the unpickled children

Nicholas’ journey from a righteous re-assembler of pickled children to a stern and scary patriarch, to a bringer of bicycles and Chatty Cathy dolls, is a fascinating story of how myths evolve to accommodate their cultures. Moore himself actually wrote another poem, called “The Santeclaus,” that seems to bridge the gap between the kinder, gentler Santa and the more intimidating Dutch incarnation. I haven’t been able to discover whether this predated or came after “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” There’s a certain curmudgeonliness to this one that makes me suspect it was written later, after an overlong visit from rambunctious grandchildren. Note, too, the pitch for educational toys and things that won’t put your eye out.

“Old Santeclaus”
by Clement Clarke Moore

Old Santeclaus with much delight
His reindeer drives this frosty night,
O’er chimney-tops, and tracks of snow,
To bring his yearly gifts to you.

The steady friend of virtuous youth,
The friend of duty, and of truth,
Each Christmas eve he joys to come
Where love and peace have made their home.

Through many houses he has been,
And various beds and stockings seen;
Some, white as snow, and neatly mended,
Others, that seemed for pigs intended.

Where e’er I found good girls or boys,
That hated quarrels, strife and noise,
I left an apple, or a tart,
Or wooden gun, or painted cart.

To some I gave a pretty doll,
To some a peg-top, or a ball;
No crackers, cannons, squibs, or rockets,
To blow their eyes up, or their pockets.

No drums to stun their Mother’s ear,
Nor swords to make their sisters fear;
But pretty books to store their mind
With knowledge of each various kind.

But where I found the children naughty,
In manners rude, in temper haughty,
Thankless to parents, liars, swearers,
Boxers, or cheats, or base tale-bearers,

I left a long, black, birchen rod,
Such as the dread command of God
Directs a Parent’s hand to use
When virtue’s path his sons refuse.

Read more similar at the Best American Poetry Blog!

The artist behind the Coca-Cola Santa

In 1931, artist Haddon H. Sundblom created an interpretation of Santa Claus that was used to advertise Coca-Cola, and for the next three decades his vision of Santa appeared in the most popular magazines in America.

Over the years, the Coca-Cola Santa helped to create the modern-day image of St. Nick – friendly and jolly with a kind face. (Before this, Santa had sometimes been scary!)

In the 1930s, Sundblom was one of the leading illustrators of his time, working for clients that included Cream of Wheat, Nabisco, Maxwell House Coffee, Whitman Chocolates, Goodyear Tires and Budweiser.

Sundblom began producing illustrations for Coca-Cola in 1924, and continued until his death in 1976. He would become our Company’s most prolific artist, painting subjects ranging from bathing beauties to soda-fountain scenes to our “Yes Girl” billboard.