Christmas 2017: Getting to Know Santa Claus
For many kids, Christmas is not the season that it is without Santa Claus, as, after all, Santa Claus means presents of toys. However, not so many people, including today's parents who once believed in the Christmas icon, don't know a few things about who Santa Claus really is and how he became embedded in Christmas beliefs and traditions.
While many believe that Santa Claus lives in the North Pole, it is believed that he first worked in Spain. Based on the legends of Belgium and the Netherlands, St. Nicholas or Sinterklaas, the other names Santa Claus is known for, the jolly old guy comes from Spain by a steamboat to give nice children some presents.
But, of course, there is no denying that the most famous version of Santa Claus is that he rides his sleigh being pulled by his team of flying reindeer on Christmas Eve as he delivers presents to kids in his "nice" list. The reindeers, namely, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, were first introduced in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St Nicolas," which is now known as "Twas the Night Before Christmas."
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Kids from past generations to the present identify Santa Claus as an old jolly man in his red suit, and hat. However, not so many people know that before donning the iconic costume, Santa Claus used to be garbed in blue, green, brown, and mauve. However, things dramatically changed when Coca-Cola launched a Christmas marketing campaign in 1931 and dressed Santa Claus in his iconic red and white suit, which remains today.
These days, the belief in Santa Claus persists, especially among kids. While the character is simply a legend, kids delight in seeing a real human dressed in his iconic suit at the malls and have their photos taken with him. After all, most mall and store Santa Claus have been trained in various institutions so that they can successfully deliver an act similar to how the Christmas figure is depicted in the books and in the movies.
Noerr, for instance, employs about 350 Santas for Christmastime, and about 70 of them train during the summer at the company's headquarters called Noerr Pole. There, the would-be Santas learn sign language, media training, beard bleaching, beard shaping and dressing like how Santa Claus should be.
"It's more of a calling than it is a job. If you can say anything every day to try to uplift a child and their family, then you go home at night with some accomplishment," Rick Davis, one of Noerr's Santas, told CNN last year.
