Santa Claus As We Know Him

We don't have very many cultural conventions that have an actual point of origin but Santa Claus is different. Practices and icons usually have their roots in the shrouded past, where only speculation and a few bits of history are available to tell the story.The Santa we know was created by artist Thomas Nast in a series of cartoons during the holiday season of December to January 1873 - 74 in Harpers Weekly.  The cartoons by Nast were consistently unlike anything, which had been seen before. Santa was fat, he had a big white beard, he was always laughing, he was smoking a pipe, he had a giant sack of toys, and a sleigh with reindeer. No doubt inspired by the Clement Moore poem Night Before Christmas written in 1822, which fairly described the same character, never had a personification of Saint Nicholas been presented this way before.  And in Victorian days Santa Claus quickly became an institution to delight children in ways unknown before.Thomas Nast was mostly a political satirist who brought down such monsters as Boss Tweed in New York City.  But despite the powerful political pen he wielded, Nast is best known for inventing our Santa Claus.