Why Is Santa Dressed In Red?
With the arrival of the Christmas season, google gets overloaded with questions like why is Santa dressed in red? The evidence we found on the internet support that earlier the Santa’s dress was tan or brown. In 1864, in the edition of “Night before Christmas,” the Saint’s dress was pictured yellow; even his sack was yellow. In 1881, Nast published a Santa in the red outfit in an American magazine’s advertisement. The red color of Santa’s dress became a trend and an official portrait from that time.
Kids start the countdown and wait for their favorite time of the year when they’ll meet ho-ho-ho-ing Santa and receive gifts. Yes, it’s the time time of celebration and merriment-the Christmas. Usually, kids keep asking many queries about who is Santa? Where does he come from? And why did Santa dress in red? Most parents become speechless because they just follow the tradition and don’t know enough about Santa Claus and his dress.
So, if you want to increase the knowledge of yourself and your kids, this post is for you. Read it till the end and uncover the history of Santa Claus and Why is Santa dressed in red?
History Of Santa Claus
Many people even don’t know who exactly Santa Claus is? In reality, Santa Claus is Nicholas, who was a 4th-century Christian Saint. He was also known with other names like Kris Kringle, Saint Nick, or simply Santa. He was famous for his kindness and piety. Not only this, he was a patron Saint of children who used to give gifts to well-behaved kids. Even he distributed his inherited wealth among sick and poor people.
Later, gift-giving became a Christmas tradition, and now it is associated with Santa throughout the world. The modern Santa character that you know today is originated from the legendary Saint Nick, who is said to bring presents for good kids on Christmas Eve.
Tradition Of Giving Gifts At Christmas
The gift-giving tradition started in the early 19th century and became an important part of Christmas celebrations. Saint Nicholas became popular in American culture at the end of the 18th century. Sinter Klaas was the dutch nickname of Saint Nick, and the name Santa Claus is also originated from his dutch name.
From 1820 to 1840, newspapers of that time started separate pages for Christmas holiday advertisements. After Nicholas’s death, European people started to celebrate feast day on his death anniversary. In Europe, on 5 and 6 December, the death date of Saint Nick is still celebrated, and people make big purchases and consider it a lucky day to get married. From here, the gift-giving tradition got associated with Santa Claus.
Christmas is all about sharing gifts with each other. In fact, the gift-giving tradition at Christmas is widely practiced throughout the world. This ritual has roots in the story when three wise men, the Magi, gave gifts to infant Jesus. That’s why you share presents to spread love and unity on Christmas eve.
What Color Was Santa Originally?
One query that must be hitting hard in your mind is, What color was Santa originally? There is no evidence-based study on what color Santa was in real. But some studies support that the color of his outfit in real was tan. Later, he appeared in a red outfit with white fur in an American magazine advertisement for the first time.
Thomas Nast, also known as the father of American cartoons, drew Santa in the Harpers Weekly magazine for advertising purposes in 1881. It was the first appearance of Santa in his red outfit, nightcap, and black belt with a large buckle. Nast also introduced green Santa in his cartoon figures during American Civil War.
It is a misunderstanding that Santa’s red outfit is evolved from the famous Coca-Cola advertisement of 1931. Haddon Sunblom drew Santa’s images in advertisements of Coca-Cola Company. He also promoted red Santa after getting inspiration from Nast’s work.
Why Does Santa Wear Red And White?
The modern Santa is a character inspired by the real hero Saint Nick who gave gifts to good kids on Christmas Eve. In the 18th century, photography equipment was not common. That’s why no one can guess the exact color of Saint Nick’s outfit in real life. Later, several cartoonists tried to show Santa in illustrations. Red outfit with white fur was the most prominent color of the Nast’s drawing published in an advertisement in 1881. After that, the red color became Santa’s color, and you can see modern Santa everywhere wearing red.
Kids love to dress up as Santa on Christmas Eve. You might have experienced that young kids mostly like to purchase hats, masks, and outfits with a printed Santa character on them. No doubt, they look so cute wearing Santa’s outfit.