Did Coca Cola invent Santa and his famous red suit?
Christmas and Coca Cola go hand in hand, particularly that iconic Coke Lorry advert.
But did Coca Cola invent Santa?
Santa has been featured in Coke adverts since the 1920s with a jolly fat man in a red coat.
And although many people think Coca Cola were the ones to dress Santa in red, that iconic outfit dates back much further, many historians believe the colours were inspired by the Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century.
Father Christmas in his red robes dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII (though he occasionally wore green). But across the world Santa had been depicted as everything from a tall thin man to a tiny elf man.
The jolly man even predates Father Christmas, descending from religious figure St Nicolas who's appearance has changed into the now familiar (and secular) character of a jolly rotund man in a red suit.
Coca-Cola of course encourage the link to the red suit, but they deny being responsible for St Nick's outfit.
"Before the Coca‑Cola Santa was even created, St Nick had appeared in numerous illustrations and written descriptions wearing a scarlet coat," their site reads.
"However, it is true that Coca‑Cola advertising played a big role in shaping the jolly, rotund character we know and love today."
The first Coke Santa was illustrated by Haddon Sundblom in 1931, who took inspiration from the poem by Clement Clark Moore, A Visit from St Nicholas (more commonly known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas).
He modelled the children in his drawings on his own children.
His illustrations were used for several decades afterwards.
Coca-Cola adds: "Sundblom’s paintings for Coca‑Cola established Santa as a warm, happy character with human features such as rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes and laughter lines.
"This grandfather-style Coca‑Cola Santa captivated the public and, as our adverts spread globally, the perception of the North Pole’s most-famous resident changed forever."
Although Coca Cola can't take credit for creating jolly old Santa Claus, it is fair to say that the company popularised this version of St Nick, and now the Coke brand synonymous with Christmas with many people saying that Coke Advertisement appearing on TV heralds the Christmas season.
Coca Cola adds: "Coca-Cola adds: "Sundblom’s paintings for Coca Cola established Santa as a warm, happy character with human features such as rosy cheeks, a white beard, twinkling eyes and laughter lines.
"This grandfather-style Coca Cola Santa captivated the public and, as our adverts spread globally, the perception of the North Pole’s most-famous resident changed forever."
Did you know?
In 1942, Coca-Cola introduced "Sprite Boy," a character who appeared with Santa Claus in Coca-Cola advertising throughout the 1940s and 1950s.
Sprite Boy (who was also created by Sundblom the illustrator) got his name due to the fact that he was a sprite, or an elf.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that Coca-Cola introduced the popular beverage Sprite.
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