December 22, 2025 • 38 mins
Why did Santa Claus become so popular? To find the answer, we tell the remarkable true story of his birth.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is Red Pilled America. Have you ever wondered how
old Santa Claus is or where did he come from?
I've long had an obsession with Santa Claus. Like most
of you, Christmas has always been a special time for
my family. We didn't have much growing up, but my
(00:23):
mom always found a way to make Christmas special and
so when Adriana and I had our daughter, we tried
to do the same for her. When she got a
little older, she began to ask us about how old
Santa Claus is and we began a deep dive into
the birth of old Saint nick I eventually wrote a
story on the topic and then published it with The
Daily Caller, and then when we started Red Pilled America,
(00:44):
we adapted that story for the show. The story of
his birth is an incredible one and we tell it
every year around this time. And just a quick warning,
this is probably not a story for the little ones
now on with the show. Every year, without fail, a
(01:06):
certain segment of the population tries to destroy Santa Claus.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Twenty seven percent of people think Santa should be female
or gender neutral. Thats, according to a survey, is.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
A gender neutral Sanna coming to town.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
If Santa comes back and he's gender neutroit. What happens
to the beard? And ah missus Claus?
Speaker 1 (01:26):
And luckily for us, they always fail. Santa Claus is
quite simply one of the greatest, most enduring ideas ever invented.
This chubby bearded, grandfatherly figure from the North Pole has
had an enormous impact on America and the world. But
why why did Santa Claus become so popular? You may
think you know the answer, but you probably don't. The
(01:48):
true story of the invention of Santa Claus is one
of the greatest achievements of American creativity. I'm Patrick Crelci and.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
I'm Adriana Cortez and this is.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Red Pilled America, a storytelling show. This is not another
talk show covering the day's news. We are all about
telling stories.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Stories. Hollywood doesn't want you.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
To hear stories. The media mocks.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Stories about everyday Americans that the elites ignore.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
You could think of Red Pilled America as audio documentaries,
and we promise only one thing, the truth. Welcome to
Red Pilled America. So the idea for this episode came
a few years ago when my daughter asked me a question.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Daddy how old is Santa Claus?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Adrianna and I were faced with the dreaded Santa Claus
questions that so many parents.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Have had over the years, so we did what most
good parents do. We lied. Over the years, Patrick and
I have gone back and forth about when we should
or shouldn't tell our daughter the truth about Santa Claus.
We figured, like all smart kids do, she'll eventually figure
it out if she hadn't already.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
But my daughter's question got me to thinking about what
an incredible influence Santa has had on American culture. US
Christmas sales now flirt with the one trillion dollar mark
each year. Santa's effect on the music industry alone has
been enormous. By the weekend after Thanksgiving twenty fifteen, four
hundred and eighty six radio stations flipped to twenty four
(03:12):
to seven Christmas music, and one station the year before
started two weeks before Halloween. One music enthusiast found that
there were almost one million different Christmas related songs on
a single music streaming service. Santa has even created entirely
new industries. Twenty seven point four million Christmas trees were
purchased in twenty seventeen and not to overlook the countless
(03:35):
Christmas related movies, holiday parades, and Santa impersonators at department
stores and street corners in a town near you. Santa
has affected the candy industry, food industry, clothing industry, publishing industry,
travel industry, and well just about every market imaginable. So
I decided to look into the origin of Santa to
(03:56):
answer my daughter's question, but also to find out how
this rosy cheeked, bearded old man became the cultural phenomenon
that we know today. Pay close attention because by understanding
the creation of Santa Claus, you'll understand the fascinating process
of why some ideas explode into popularity while others fade
into oblivion. But to understand the phenomenon of Santa Claus,
(04:18):
we have to go back roughly seventeen hundred years. As
the legend goes, a boy named Nicholas was born in
a town called Patera sometime in the third century AD.
Located in modern day Turkey. Petera was a flourishing commercial
and maritime city on the Mediterranean coast. Nicholas was the
(04:40):
scion of wealthy parents. After his birth, his mother lost
the ability to conceive making him an only child. His
parents raised him to be a devout Christian. However, both
would die of an epidemic when he was young, leaving
Nicholas a rich orphan. But unlike our time of excess,
young Nicholas did not adopt an entitled demeanor. Instead, he
(05:01):
became known for his giving nature. One story about his
charity has stood out over time. Adriana will help tell
that Short Taiale.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
A once rich nobleman, a neighbor of young Nicholas, fell
on hard financial times, a circumstance made worse by the
fact that he had three young and attractive, unmarried daughters.
The absence of a dowry left these girls in a
dangerous situation because the available suitors of the time would
not marry a young lady lacking resources, no matter how
(05:30):
appealing they were to the eye. If the nobleman and
his daughters were to survive, he'd have to find employment
for each of his daughters in a brothel. When word
of the father's predicament found its way to young Nicholas,
he felt it his moral responsibility to help the family,
But for fear of embarrassing the proud nobleman, Nicholas decided
to assist him anonymously, so in the dark of night,
(05:57):
young Nicholas journeyed to the father's window, and while the
household was sleeping, he threw one bag of gold into
the family's window. When the nobleman awoke to the surprise gift,
he rejoiced, using it immediately to find a suitor for
his eldest daughter. Once word reached Nicholas that his gift
(06:18):
helped the poor nobleman's first born, Nicholas again traveled in
the dark of night to the same window and delivered
a second bag of gold. When the nobleman found the
new gift, he quickly married off his second eldest daughter
and turned to God, praying that he learned who the
charitable soul was to thank him. Laying in wait one night,
(06:40):
the poor nobleman heard a third bag drop in and
went in pursuit to learn the identity of the night
time gift giver. When he recognized jen Nicholas, he fell
to his feet in appreciation of his generosity. But Nicholas
desired anonymity and requested that the nobleman not repeat that
(07:00):
he had helped him. The nobleman agreed, read and promptly
found a suitor for his youngest daughter. Family crisis averted.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
This story became known as Three Daughters and is the
most widely disseminated tale about Saint Nicholas. When writing the story,
one ninth century biographer cited the scripture that Saint Nicholas
was employing through his kind actions, essentially using the saint
to convey Christian values. Through this tale, Saint Nicholas would
be forever known as the nighttime gift giver of the young.
(07:31):
The proliferation of the Three Daughters story cannot be overstated.
It would later appear in every available artistic format of
the time, including frescoes, altars, panels, windows, books, scriptures, stonework, carvings,
engravings in architecture, and even theatrical plays. The story would
go on to be represented in regions as geographically separate
(07:51):
as Italy, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Crete Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Kosovo, Romania, Georgia, Estonia,
the Netherlands, An well the picture the story would eventually
spread to every Christian enclave in existence. This simple gesture,
the act of helping the downtrodden in need, is a
(08:12):
story that almost anyone can relate to, especially the common man.
Saint Nicholas didn't need to die a martyr's death to
be remembered. He just needed to find his way in
the dark of night to the home of a person
in need and impart a gift with nothing but anonymity
asked in return, but anonymity he wouldn't receive. Young Nicholas
(08:33):
went on to become the Bishop of Myra, a mercantile
town and neighboring port to his birthplace. He lived a
long life and became renowned for his virtuous conduct yet
stern defense of Christianity. In a brief lapse of judgment,
he even famously struck a Jesus detractor in the face,
apparently the detractor had made Saint Nicholas's naughtilust. He is
(08:54):
said to have passed on December sixth, in the year
three forty three a d. He was buried in a
marble tomb within a crypt of a cathedral in Myra
dedicated to him. The date of his death would come
to be known as Saint Nicholas Day, a day to
celebrate his memory. Residing in the port town of Myra
was a stroke of good luck for Saint Nicholas. When
(09:14):
the pagan gods fell to Christianity, sailors needed to replace
Poseidon as their ocean overseer in desperate times at the sea.
Saint Nicholas fulfilled that need, becoming the patron Saint of
sailors and ships. The designation of patron saint denotes a protector,
a type of overseer of a family group or class
of citizen, or even a trade city or an entire nation.
(09:38):
It's hard for our contemporary culture to fully grasp the
importance of a patron saint. In the days of old,
they were called upon in times of need and were
specific heavenly advocates for those they watched over. As the
highly regarded Saint Nicholas, Historian Charles W. Jones once noted
the cult of Saint Nicholas was the most intense of
any non biblical saint in Christendom. Saint Nicholas has been
(10:00):
named the patron Saint of more causes than any of
his peers. In addition to sailors and ships, he became
the patron Saint of the innocent, and as an extension,
prisoners and the wrongly condemned, possibly because of the Three
Daughters story, he became the patron saint of children, marriage
and conception. Entire countries like Italy, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Switzerland,
(10:21):
and whole cities such as Amsterdam and Moscow would eventually
call him their patron saint. But it was his calling
to sailors that helped make Saint Nicholas go global. Journey
by sea was the mode of transportation that reached far
away lands, and Saint Nicholas was invoked in dire times
throughout the voyage. It has been said that a man
(10:42):
could start a journey by ship not knowing Saint Nicholas,
but by the end of the voyage he was fully
aware of his useful purpose. Not only would sailors look
to Saint Nicholas for protection, but also the owners of
the ship's cargo, widening his reach to the hearts and
minds of merchants. It would be through the distribution network
of the sea that Saint Nicholas and his message would
(11:03):
be broadcast throughout Europe and beyond, firmly im planning him
in the minds of Christians everywhere, a fact that ensured
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the distribution network of the Sea that Saint Nicholas and
his message would be broadcast throughout Europe and beyond, firmly
implanning him in the minds of Christians everywhere, a fact
that insured his survival when confronting his first major threat.
(12:51):
In the eleventh century, Maira, the home of Saint Nicholas's tomb,
was under constant siege from an expanding Muslim reach. The
relics of saints were highly coveted in this time. Entire
cathedra duels we erected to surround these artifacts, and followers
made long pilgrimages to be in their presence. Fearing that
Saint Nicholas's relics could be destroyed by the growing influence
(13:13):
of Islam in the region, sailors from Barr Italy embarked
on a daring raid of Saint Nicholas's tomb in Myra.
The event would become widely known as the translation of
ten eighty seven, and it was reported by practically every
Western chronicler of the time. Apparently, Saint Nicholas dominated the
medieval news cycle. His remains were brought to Barr, Italy,
(13:39):
their arrival marking grand celebration. Barri was a lot like
Saint Nicholas's former home in Myra in that it was
a critical port city that sat on the Mediterranean, But
unlike Myra, the message of Saint Nicholas was safe from
the growing influence of Islam. The opening of a sealed
tomb in Myra also had another effect. It allowed remnants
(14:00):
of his relics, possibly a forgotten bone or failing, to
find their way into other city cathedrals throughout Europe. These
cathedrals became hubs of the cult of Saint Nicholas, increasing
the points on the globe. Broadcasting his ideas through these
hubs and the distribution network of sailing channels. Out of
his new home in Bari, Saint Nicholas's message would continue
to be introduced into Europe's Christian enclaves, continuing to seed
(14:24):
the ideas that he embodied in their minds. An important
new technology was introduced shortly after this time. They would
modify the legend of Saint Nicholas in an important way.
Until the thirteenth century, the only common pathways into the
home were the window and the door. That would change
(14:46):
with the introduction of the chimney. The Little Ice Age
had begun, where temperatures dropped enough to make places like
Greenland turn white with ice. To combat this cold, chimney
started to become commonplace, and this was crucial to the
development of the idea of Saint Nicholas. Windows and doors
were the pathways of vagabonds and thieves, but these surprise
(15:07):
intruders could not come through the chimney. A passage to
the warmth and heart of the home was opened, and
Saint Nicholas made his first known chimney entrance in a
Three Daughters Fresco and Serbia, painted and around thirteen ninety two.
In it, the artist shows Saint Nicholas delivering his gift
of gold to the poor nobleman through a chimney pipe.
The legend of Saint Nicholas was undergoing a powerful and
(15:29):
necessary transformation. His influence was becoming more secular, his use
began to expand beyond the church. He started to enter
the home, becoming part of the family, and this would
be crucial if he were to survive his next obstacle,
the Reformation. Until the sixteenth century, saints reigned in the Church,
their images and symbols dispersed throughout all of its mediums.
(15:51):
Saint Nicholas was at the center of this spectacle. The
Russians would even come to believe that Saint Nicholas took
over from Jesus Christ the responsibility of saving mankind, but
that would all change with the Protestant Reformation. The Protestants
felt that the Catholic Church's practice of venerating saints and
even celebrating Christmas had no biblical basis, was a sign
of paganism and a corruption of Christianity. They went on
(16:14):
a campaign to deemphasize the influence of the saints. Saint
Nicholas's public prominence suffered. The lack of surviving Three Daughters
images in England after the Reformation showed just how successful
the English Protestants were in their efforts. But what shielded
Saint Nicholas from total oblivion during this time was his
strong appeal outside of the reach of the church. His
(16:35):
message resonated so broadly that he moved from out of
the church and into the home. In areas like the Netherlands.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Christmas was from the very beginning a time of gift giving.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
That's Jerry Bowler, one of the world's leading historians on Christmas,
an author of Santa claus a biography.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
We have the wise men bringing gold, frank consense and
were for the baby Jesus. And when Christmas becomes able
to be openly celebrated in the Roman Empire, it picks
up the habit of gift giving from the Roman New Years,
which occurred around the same time. But for a long
(17:21):
time those gifts were not associated with children. They tended
to go up and down the social ladder, kind of
to Greece social relationships. Kids got presents, but they had
to demand it, and so there were centuries in the
Middle Ages which in the month of December, marginal groups
(17:44):
in society like old ladies or students or kids, could
go around and demand gifts. The notion that somebody would
secretly come and give them gifts doesn't appear until around
the year twelve hundred, when this begins to happen and
(18:05):
is attributed to Saint Nicholas. So we've got about three
hundred years of Saint Nicholas being the dominant midnight secret
gift bringer. He's got a real good run at it,
and there are Saint Nicholas fairs all over Europe in
which you could go and buy gingerbread or dolls or
(18:29):
toys for your kids. In the fifteen hundreds, however, the
Protestant Reformation comes along and where they're successful in western
and northern Europe, they attack the cult of saints, and
so Saint Nicholas is given the boot, and that means
in many places there is no Christmas gift bringer for
(18:53):
kids England, Scotland, it just completely disappears. But in some
places Saint Nicholas hangs on, and one of those is
the Netherlands.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
In that area, when the Dutch Reformed Church banned the
veneration of saints, it was taken up in secret churches
throughout the country, like a stocking maker's house in Amsterdam
that was quietly converted to a Saint Nicholas church. In
the early sixteen sixties, Saint Nicholas Day was celebrated privately
in the home with a family feast and gift giving
to children. Even with the Dutch Protestants passing statutes banning
(19:31):
the creation of Saint Nicholas cookies, a popular celebration treat,
Saint Nicholas would survive this attack, an important development for
when the Dutch would later settle in New Amsterdam or
what we now call the southern tip of New York City.
Even with the Protestants actively trying to eliminate the influence
of Saints, the ones that survived this time at staying
power because the ideas they represented were firmly planted in
(19:54):
the minds of their followers. Where the Catholic Church retained control,
the Saints still publicly survived. In places where the Protestants
were successful in minimizing their own influence, Saint veneration went
into hiding, and where the Protestants were successful in eliminating
even private honoring, other forms of overseers serving similar purposes
to Saint Nicholas arose. For example, the German Protestants invented
(20:17):
Christ's Kindle or Christ's Child to replace Saint Nicholas as
the Christmas season gift giver. This being was intended to
be the incarnation of Jesus as a child, thus not
violating the Church's saint rejection. The name Chris Kringle is
derived from Christ's kindle, and this angelic child stands as
a gift giver in some parts of the world to
this day. So the ideas that Saint Nicholas embodied kindness, generosity,
(20:42):
empathy for the downtrodden. These ideas were already firmly planted
in the minds of Christians in every enclave of the world.
Even with the Reformation attempting to eliminate Saint Nicholas, the
ideas he represented could not be eliminated, and they'd soon
be brought to the New World. At the beginning of
the nineteenth century, the Christmas season in New York City
(21:03):
looked nothing like it looks today. It more resembled a
Mardi Gras. People, mostly men, took to the streets in
a rowdy public display, some forming what appeared to be
marching bands that consisted of roaming mobs carrying anything that
made noise. Their aim was to cause disruption and for
one brief period of time flipped the tables on authority
(21:23):
and the societal elites. Many would go door to door,
targeting the town's upper class, requesting entry by singing intimidating songs,
the lyrics of which grew more hostile if entry were refused.
Upon entering, some would sing or perform makeshift plays and
wouldn't leave without food, alcohol, or other gifts.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
So around eighteen hundred, Christmas has a kind of bad
reputation again.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Jerry Bowler.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
It's a time for these groups of men to go
out and get drunk and rough up the bourgeoisie, beat
up immigrants or African amass, break into people's houses demanding hospitality,
and so on.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
And New York City wasn't the only place experiencing this phenomenon.
Places like Philadelphia and throughout the New England area fell
victim to this time of misrule, as it came to
be known where otherwise unacceptable behavior was widely tolerated or
at least expected. Every year, law enforcement would lose control
of the streets, elites would feel uneasy, merchants would be frustrated,
(22:29):
and the clergy appalled. A tool was desperately needed to
combat this unwelcomed annual invasion. Then something began to take shape.
A small group of New York City elites set out
to create a tool to combat this yearly raucous behavior,
with the ultimate goal of domesticating the holidays. The first
(22:51):
known to start its creation was John Pintered, what we
would now call a mover and shaker. Pintard was a
merchant and one man whirlwind that played a part in
establishing George Washington's birthday and the Fourth of July important
American holidays. The cornerstone of his campaign to domesticate Christmas
was to re establish the old world. Saint Nicholas Day
December sixth, widely recognized as the day of Saint Nicholas's
(23:14):
death as a day for sober, family centered celebration. The Dutch,
who kept Saint Nicholas alive in Europe during the Reformation,
were the first to settle in the land now known
as New York City, but according to the best estimates
of the time, the Dutch in the area did not
noticeably outnumber other non English Europeans and were outnumbered by
the Germans. But as we've already seen, Saint Nicholas had
(23:35):
already shown the ability to resonate with Europeans in every
available Christian enclave up into the Reformation. The ancestors of
these ancient Saint Nicholas celebrators were now in New York City,
no doubt, carrying the ideas that Saint Nicholas embodied along
with them. The venerable Saint was being celebrated below the
public view within some communities and laying dormant in others.
(23:58):
John Pinerd must have sensed this. In eighteen o four,
he helped found the New York His Say Historical Society.
This organization would boast a who's who of New York
City as members, including the city's mayor. Within this elite group,
the legend of Saint Nicholas began buzzing. They'd begin invoking
him at society events. But it was the imagination of
another New York Historical Society member, Washington Irving, which transformed
(24:22):
Saint Nicholas from a bishop into something magical. With the
eighteen oh nine publication of his satire The History of
New York from the Beginning of the World to the
End of the Dutch Dynasty. Irving published it under the
pseudonym Dietrich Knickerbacker on December sixth, eighteen o nine, Saint
Nicholas Day. This was not by chance in Irving's satirical history.
(24:43):
He fictionalized a long history of Saint Nicholas in the
New York City area and described the many festivities on
Saint Nicholas Day in the colony and the church dedicated
to him. He references Saint Nicholas throughout his story, in
one instance having him land on a rooftop and a
horse and wagon delivering presents down the chimney. The book
was thought to be a mayor his first literary masterpiece.
(25:05):
It was read widely by New York City's elite and
painted a picture of a city long under the protection
of Saint Nicholas. Again Jerry Bowler.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Around eighteen hundred, a group of elite New Yorkers, some
artists and poets and property owners, decided to try and
rescue Christmas from this raucous, violent booze fest, and they
resurrected Saint Nicholas. They drew on the folk memory of
(25:39):
the Dutch colonists and started talking about Saint Nicholas as
this Christmas time gift bringer. This is seen as a
way of domesticating Christmas.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
According to Saint Nicholas historian Charles W. Jones from eighteen
oh nine on Saint Nicholas was New York, and at
this time in New York City's development, this was important.
Like the port cities of Bari, Italy and Myra that
housed Saint Nicholas's remnants, New York City was quickly becoming
the commerce center and trading port of the United States.
(26:21):
Many immigrants would come to New York City before venturing
into other cities in the new country. And as we've
already seen, much of Europe had already displayed how the
idea of Saint Nicholas resonated broadly within their homelands. He
survived the Reformation by existing outside of the Reformed Church's reach,
living secretly in homes and Protestant regions and openly in
(26:41):
Catholic communities. And now New York City was introducing Saint
Nicholas to the New country and incoming immigrants at a
time that he was desperately needed. The most potent ideas
tend to find their birth in times of growth and instability.
New York City in the first decades of the nineteenth
century was fertile ground for such an idea. It was
(27:01):
a growing merchant city. Imported goods were coming in from
Europe and luxury book and jewelry stores were opening. The
city was becoming the book publishing center of the US.
But at the same time, annual misrule would take over
the streets where this very commerce was supposed to take place.
The growing civilized society, especially merchants and the elites, wanted
(27:23):
and needed a tool to stabilize this annual time of misbehavior,
and they found it in Saint Nicholas. On December sixth,
eighteen ten, a year after the publication of irving satirical
history book, John Pintered, the same man responsible for the
Fourth of July Holiday and George Washington's Holiday, launched a
(27:45):
campaign to establish Saint Nicholas Day celebration in New York City.
He molded the magical Saint Nicholas ideas expressed in Irving's
book and passed it out in the form of a
flyer at a banquet for members of the New York
Historical Society.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
So we have Washington Irving talking about it in his
Knickerbocker History of New York, and we have a guy
named Pintard who founds the New York Historical Society, who
publicizes pictures of Saint Nicholas, bringing good kids gifts and
(28:25):
bringing switches with which to tan the hides of bad kids.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
The first toast of the banquet introducing this image was
to Sancty Clause. But it was in eighteen twenty one
that a burst of creativity would occur.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Now Pintard and Washington Irving have started the ball rolling.
In eighteen twenty one, an unknown genius writes a poem
called A Children's Friend and illustrates it, publishes it in
New York. And this is the first time that we
(28:59):
see the word Santa Claus printed, and the first time
that we see a picture of Santa Claus, not as
a Catholic bishop in a Catholic bishop's robes, but as
a non sectarian adult in a fur robe or a
(29:19):
fur lined robe and a fur lined cap, coming into
people's houses on Christmas Eve. The first picture we see
of Santa Claus, and the first time Santa Claus appears
in a reindeer powered sleigh. Now that's just an act
of genius. We have no idea how he got it.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
The book was one of the first colored publications using
a new technique called lithography. Sure to stand out at
the time, the pages showed the old Santa Claus, as
they called him, whimsically traveling by a single reindeer, John Slagh.
Saint Nicholas's magical characteristic were growing, but most notably, the
Children's Friend book had Santa bringing his yearly gifts not
(30:09):
on Saint Nicholas Day December sixth, as the New York
elites wanted, but instead on Christmas Eve. This one slight
modification and deviation from Pintard's campaign proved to be the
chain Saint Nicholas needed to become the potent idea he
is today. You see. For the same reason as New
York City merchants and elites, New York City citizens with
(30:29):
roots in New England knew that a movement had taken
hold there to observe December twenty fifth as a day
of solemn Warship of Jesus Christ to combat the annual
public rowdiness. The shift to Saint Nicholas delivering gifts on
Christmas Eve, followed by a domestic, family centered day of
warship on Christmas Day provided the necessary combination for all
interest groups to rally around this new tool Santa Claus
(30:51):
to domesticate the holiday. But this book was printed in
color and as a result, it was expensive, so it
couldn't have been widely distributed. However, another member of the
New York historicals Stem, poet Clement Clark Moore, would step
in to make Santa Claus go viral, and when he did,
one of the biggest phenomena in the history of America
(31:11):
was born.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
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Speaker 1 (31:30):
Welcome back to red Pilled America. So, an unknown genius
published a book in eighteen twenty one that introduced Santa
Claus for the first time, and this anonymous author contributed
a few key traits, the biggest being that he had
Santa Claus arriving on Christmas Eve. But this book was
printed in color and as a result, it was expensive,
(31:51):
so it couldn't have been widely distributed. However, a member
of the New York Historical Society, poet Clement Clark Moore,
stepped in to make Santa Claus go viral. When a
chilly Christmas Eve in eighteen twenty two. With the entire
(32:11):
household gathered in his Chelsea mansion, Clement Clark Moore would
enter the history books as he unleashed the fully packaged
Santa Claus idea for the first time. Twas the night
before Christmas went all through the house, not a creature
was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung
by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas
soon would be there. By the end of his recital,
(32:32):
one of the most powerful ideas in American history was born.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
What happened next would start the phenomenon. The verses were
apparently copied into the album of a family member not
long after they were first uttered. This unnamed woman would
then let her friend from Troy, New York, copy the poem,
who then carried it to the editor of the Troy Sentinel.
Roughly one year later, on December twenty third, eighteen twenty three,
(32:58):
the Sentinel published an account of a visit from Saint Nicholas,
a fifteen hundred year old saint would transform into what
we now know is Santa Claus. The poem would soon
resonate throughout society. It spread the Christmas season of eighteen
twenty four, when no less than four new Almanacs included
(33:18):
Moore's poem. Other newspapers would follow suit. The Saturday Evening Post,
the New York Morning Courier, the Poulson's Daily Advertisers, and
many more would publish Moore's cheerful lyrics. Newsboys began using
the poem in one page flyers used to extract holiday
tips from customers. Advertisers turned to Moore's jolly character to
(33:40):
help peddle their goods. Within a decade, lightning speed for
the time, the entire country learned about the joys of
a domestic Saint Nicholas Christmas through Moore's poem.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
When Clement Clark Moore's A Visit from Saint Nicholas poem
took the Christmas eve que and package the concept for
mass public consumption, Santa Claus had become the tool everyone
was waiting for. The elites that wanted to remove the
targets from their backs would invoke Santa Claus to domesticate
the season. The book publishers and gift producers that needed
a robust sales environment to combat the frugality of the
(34:12):
time looked to Santa Claus to remove the stigma of
luxury purchases. The merchants that wanted stability in the streets
to sell their products saw Santa Clauss the perfect calming
old soul. The Church that desired an end the Christmas
season misrule and unchristian like behavior saw Santa Claus as
a necessary compromise. Thanks to Saint Nicholas, the rowdiness in
(34:32):
the streets turned from once accepted to now criminal conduct,
and parents that welcomed a tool to control their children's
behavior saw Santa Claus as a valuable instrument. Santa Claus
was the perfect tool to advance all of these groups causes.
Old Chris Kringle would find his home, thanks to artist
(34:54):
Thomas Nast, in the inaccessible and mysterious region of the
North Pole, the neutral ground necessary for this gift giver
to go global.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
It spread stream Europe, where he replaces older gift bringers
who are many of them scary. Perkda, the disemboweler Father
switch U will goats knock you overson is looking in
the eye. By nineteen hundred we have the Platonic ideal
(35:26):
of Santa Claus. The twentieth century has spent countless hours
trying to change Santa Claus. You know, they give him
a wife, they give him kids, they give him bad kids,
They fire him, they kill him, they retire him. You
know it doesn't work. He is always lodged at the
(35:48):
North Pole, always comes on Christmas Eve. You have tiny
regional variations. In Australia, he's pulled by six white kangaroos.
In the Cajun Country, he's in a pirogue canoe pulled
by alligators. Comes on surfboard in Hawaii, and so on.
But essentially that same grandfatherly figure.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
The new and improved Saint Nicholas, would be exported further
around the globe. Japan would even find love for the
toy carrying jolly old soul. Santa Claus is truly a
global phenomenon, which leads us back to the question why
did Santa Claus become so popular? Santa has become one
of the most powerful American ideas ever conceived because he
(36:34):
became a weapon of sorts. The most powerful ideas in
human culture can be used as a weapon or a
tool by a wide number of different groups. Santa Claus
was used by law enforcement to calm the rowdy streets.
He was used by product makers to sell their goods,
by retailers to attract customers, by the church to make
(36:55):
way for a family friendly day of worship, and by
parents to control unruly kids. Each of these groups found
Santa Claus a us useful tool for their own selfish purposes,
and he was crafted over centuries to become this useful tool.
Santa Claus is one of the greatest American inventions of
all time because it became a tool used by so
many different groups. Old Saint Nick became a stabilizing instrument
(37:18):
during a season that once was much less stable. We
should be thankful for his arrival and proud of his
American roots.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
So, Daddy, how is Santa Claus?
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Well, honey, I guess you could say he was born
in Troy, New York on December twenty third, eighteen twenty three.
That would make him two hundred and two years old
this year.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Wow, that's old.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
And on that note, Red Pilled America wishes you and yours.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Of a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Red Pilled America is an iHeartRadio original podcast. It's produced
by me Adrianna Cortez and Patrick Carelchi for Informed Ventures. Now,
our entire archive of episodes is only available to our
backstage subscribers. To subscribe, visit Redpilled America dot com and
click support in the top men you
This is Red Pilled America. Have you ever wondered how
old Santa Claus is or where did he come from?
I've long had an obsession with Santa Claus. Like most
of you, Christmas has always been a special time for
my family. We didn't have much growing up, but my
(00:23):
mom always found a way to make Christmas special and
so when Adriana and I had our daughter, we tried
to do the same for her. When she got a
little older, she began to ask us about how old
Santa Claus is and we began a deep dive into
the birth of old Saint nick I eventually wrote a
story on the topic and then published it with The
Daily Caller, and then when we started Red Pilled America,
(00:44):
we adapted that story for the show. The story of
his birth is an incredible one and we tell it
every year around this time. And just a quick warning,
this is probably not a story for the little ones
now on with the show. Every year, without fail, a
(01:06):
certain segment of the population tries to destroy Santa Claus.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Twenty seven percent of people think Santa should be female
or gender neutral. Thats, according to a survey, is.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
A gender neutral Sanna coming to town.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
If Santa comes back and he's gender neutroit. What happens
to the beard? And ah missus Claus?
Speaker 1 (01:26):
And luckily for us, they always fail. Santa Claus is
quite simply one of the greatest, most enduring ideas ever invented.
This chubby bearded, grandfatherly figure from the North Pole has
had an enormous impact on America and the world. But
why why did Santa Claus become so popular? You may
think you know the answer, but you probably don't. The
(01:48):
true story of the invention of Santa Claus is one
of the greatest achievements of American creativity. I'm Patrick Crelci and.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
I'm Adriana Cortez and this is.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Red Pilled America, a storytelling show. This is not another
talk show covering the day's news. We are all about
telling stories.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Stories. Hollywood doesn't want you.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
To hear stories. The media mocks.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Stories about everyday Americans that the elites ignore.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
You could think of Red Pilled America as audio documentaries,
and we promise only one thing, the truth. Welcome to
Red Pilled America. So the idea for this episode came
a few years ago when my daughter asked me a question.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Daddy how old is Santa Claus?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
Adrianna and I were faced with the dreaded Santa Claus
questions that so many parents.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Have had over the years, so we did what most
good parents do. We lied. Over the years, Patrick and
I have gone back and forth about when we should
or shouldn't tell our daughter the truth about Santa Claus.
We figured, like all smart kids do, she'll eventually figure
it out if she hadn't already.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
But my daughter's question got me to thinking about what
an incredible influence Santa has had on American culture. US
Christmas sales now flirt with the one trillion dollar mark
each year. Santa's effect on the music industry alone has
been enormous. By the weekend after Thanksgiving twenty fifteen, four
hundred and eighty six radio stations flipped to twenty four
(03:12):
to seven Christmas music, and one station the year before
started two weeks before Halloween. One music enthusiast found that
there were almost one million different Christmas related songs on
a single music streaming service. Santa has even created entirely
new industries. Twenty seven point four million Christmas trees were
purchased in twenty seventeen and not to overlook the countless
(03:35):
Christmas related movies, holiday parades, and Santa impersonators at department
stores and street corners in a town near you. Santa
has affected the candy industry, food industry, clothing industry, publishing industry,
travel industry, and well just about every market imaginable. So
I decided to look into the origin of Santa to
(03:56):
answer my daughter's question, but also to find out how
this rosy cheeked, bearded old man became the cultural phenomenon
that we know today. Pay close attention because by understanding
the creation of Santa Claus, you'll understand the fascinating process
of why some ideas explode into popularity while others fade
into oblivion. But to understand the phenomenon of Santa Claus,
(04:18):
we have to go back roughly seventeen hundred years. As
the legend goes, a boy named Nicholas was born in
a town called Patera sometime in the third century AD.
Located in modern day Turkey. Petera was a flourishing commercial
and maritime city on the Mediterranean coast. Nicholas was the
(04:40):
scion of wealthy parents. After his birth, his mother lost
the ability to conceive making him an only child. His
parents raised him to be a devout Christian. However, both
would die of an epidemic when he was young, leaving
Nicholas a rich orphan. But unlike our time of excess,
young Nicholas did not adopt an entitled demeanor. Instead, he
(05:01):
became known for his giving nature. One story about his
charity has stood out over time. Adriana will help tell
that Short Taiale.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
A once rich nobleman, a neighbor of young Nicholas, fell
on hard financial times, a circumstance made worse by the
fact that he had three young and attractive, unmarried daughters.
The absence of a dowry left these girls in a
dangerous situation because the available suitors of the time would
not marry a young lady lacking resources, no matter how
(05:30):
appealing they were to the eye. If the nobleman and
his daughters were to survive, he'd have to find employment
for each of his daughters in a brothel. When word
of the father's predicament found its way to young Nicholas,
he felt it his moral responsibility to help the family,
But for fear of embarrassing the proud nobleman, Nicholas decided
to assist him anonymously, so in the dark of night,
(05:57):
young Nicholas journeyed to the father's window, and while the
household was sleeping, he threw one bag of gold into
the family's window. When the nobleman awoke to the surprise gift,
he rejoiced, using it immediately to find a suitor for
his eldest daughter. Once word reached Nicholas that his gift
(06:18):
helped the poor nobleman's first born, Nicholas again traveled in
the dark of night to the same window and delivered
a second bag of gold. When the nobleman found the
new gift, he quickly married off his second eldest daughter
and turned to God, praying that he learned who the
charitable soul was to thank him. Laying in wait one night,
(06:40):
the poor nobleman heard a third bag drop in and
went in pursuit to learn the identity of the night
time gift giver. When he recognized jen Nicholas, he fell
to his feet in appreciation of his generosity. But Nicholas
desired anonymity and requested that the nobleman not repeat that
(07:00):
he had helped him. The nobleman agreed, read and promptly
found a suitor for his youngest daughter. Family crisis averted.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
This story became known as Three Daughters and is the
most widely disseminated tale about Saint Nicholas. When writing the story,
one ninth century biographer cited the scripture that Saint Nicholas
was employing through his kind actions, essentially using the saint
to convey Christian values. Through this tale, Saint Nicholas would
be forever known as the nighttime gift giver of the young.
(07:31):
The proliferation of the Three Daughters story cannot be overstated.
It would later appear in every available artistic format of
the time, including frescoes, altars, panels, windows, books, scriptures, stonework, carvings,
engravings in architecture, and even theatrical plays. The story would
go on to be represented in regions as geographically separate
(07:51):
as Italy, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Crete Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Kosovo, Romania, Georgia, Estonia,
the Netherlands, An well the picture the story would eventually
spread to every Christian enclave in existence. This simple gesture,
the act of helping the downtrodden in need, is a
(08:12):
story that almost anyone can relate to, especially the common man.
Saint Nicholas didn't need to die a martyr's death to
be remembered. He just needed to find his way in
the dark of night to the home of a person
in need and impart a gift with nothing but anonymity
asked in return, but anonymity he wouldn't receive. Young Nicholas
(08:33):
went on to become the Bishop of Myra, a mercantile
town and neighboring port to his birthplace. He lived a
long life and became renowned for his virtuous conduct yet
stern defense of Christianity. In a brief lapse of judgment,
he even famously struck a Jesus detractor in the face,
apparently the detractor had made Saint Nicholas's naughtilust. He is
(08:54):
said to have passed on December sixth, in the year
three forty three a d. He was buried in a
marble tomb within a crypt of a cathedral in Myra
dedicated to him. The date of his death would come
to be known as Saint Nicholas Day, a day to
celebrate his memory. Residing in the port town of Myra
was a stroke of good luck for Saint Nicholas. When
(09:14):
the pagan gods fell to Christianity, sailors needed to replace
Poseidon as their ocean overseer in desperate times at the sea.
Saint Nicholas fulfilled that need, becoming the patron Saint of
sailors and ships. The designation of patron saint denotes a protector,
a type of overseer of a family group or class
of citizen, or even a trade city or an entire nation.
(09:38):
It's hard for our contemporary culture to fully grasp the
importance of a patron saint. In the days of old,
they were called upon in times of need and were
specific heavenly advocates for those they watched over. As the
highly regarded Saint Nicholas, Historian Charles W. Jones once noted
the cult of Saint Nicholas was the most intense of
any non biblical saint in Christendom. Saint Nicholas has been
(10:00):
named the patron Saint of more causes than any of
his peers. In addition to sailors and ships, he became
the patron Saint of the innocent, and as an extension,
prisoners and the wrongly condemned, possibly because of the Three
Daughters story, he became the patron saint of children, marriage
and conception. Entire countries like Italy, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Switzerland,
(10:21):
and whole cities such as Amsterdam and Moscow would eventually
call him their patron saint. But it was his calling
to sailors that helped make Saint Nicholas go global. Journey
by sea was the mode of transportation that reached far
away lands, and Saint Nicholas was invoked in dire times
throughout the voyage. It has been said that a man
(10:42):
could start a journey by ship not knowing Saint Nicholas,
but by the end of the voyage he was fully
aware of his useful purpose. Not only would sailors look
to Saint Nicholas for protection, but also the owners of
the ship's cargo, widening his reach to the hearts and
minds of merchants. It would be through the distribution network
of the sea that Saint Nicholas and his message would
(11:03):
be broadcast throughout Europe and beyond, firmly im planning him
in the minds of Christians everywhere, a fact that ensured
his survival when confronting his first major threat, licorice, licorice,
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yourself and those you love and taste the difference. Welcome
back to red Pilled America. So it would be through
the distribution network of the Sea that Saint Nicholas and
his message would be broadcast throughout Europe and beyond, firmly
implanning him in the minds of Christians everywhere, a fact
that insured his survival when confronting his first major threat.
(12:51):
In the eleventh century, Maira, the home of Saint Nicholas's tomb,
was under constant siege from an expanding Muslim reach. The
relics of saints were highly coveted in this time. Entire
cathedra duels we erected to surround these artifacts, and followers
made long pilgrimages to be in their presence. Fearing that
Saint Nicholas's relics could be destroyed by the growing influence
(13:13):
of Islam in the region, sailors from Barr Italy embarked
on a daring raid of Saint Nicholas's tomb in Myra.
The event would become widely known as the translation of
ten eighty seven, and it was reported by practically every
Western chronicler of the time. Apparently, Saint Nicholas dominated the
medieval news cycle. His remains were brought to Barr, Italy,
(13:39):
their arrival marking grand celebration. Barri was a lot like
Saint Nicholas's former home in Myra in that it was
a critical port city that sat on the Mediterranean, But
unlike Myra, the message of Saint Nicholas was safe from
the growing influence of Islam. The opening of a sealed
tomb in Myra also had another effect. It allowed remnants
(14:00):
of his relics, possibly a forgotten bone or failing, to
find their way into other city cathedrals throughout Europe. These
cathedrals became hubs of the cult of Saint Nicholas, increasing
the points on the globe. Broadcasting his ideas through these
hubs and the distribution network of sailing channels. Out of
his new home in Bari, Saint Nicholas's message would continue
to be introduced into Europe's Christian enclaves, continuing to seed
(14:24):
the ideas that he embodied in their minds. An important
new technology was introduced shortly after this time. They would
modify the legend of Saint Nicholas in an important way.
Until the thirteenth century, the only common pathways into the
home were the window and the door. That would change
(14:46):
with the introduction of the chimney. The Little Ice Age
had begun, where temperatures dropped enough to make places like
Greenland turn white with ice. To combat this cold, chimney
started to become commonplace, and this was crucial to the
development of the idea of Saint Nicholas. Windows and doors
were the pathways of vagabonds and thieves, but these surprise
(15:07):
intruders could not come through the chimney. A passage to
the warmth and heart of the home was opened, and
Saint Nicholas made his first known chimney entrance in a
Three Daughters Fresco and Serbia, painted and around thirteen ninety two.
In it, the artist shows Saint Nicholas delivering his gift
of gold to the poor nobleman through a chimney pipe.
The legend of Saint Nicholas was undergoing a powerful and
(15:29):
necessary transformation. His influence was becoming more secular, his use
began to expand beyond the church. He started to enter
the home, becoming part of the family, and this would
be crucial if he were to survive his next obstacle,
the Reformation. Until the sixteenth century, saints reigned in the Church,
their images and symbols dispersed throughout all of its mediums.
(15:51):
Saint Nicholas was at the center of this spectacle. The
Russians would even come to believe that Saint Nicholas took
over from Jesus Christ the responsibility of saving mankind, but
that would all change with the Protestant Reformation. The Protestants
felt that the Catholic Church's practice of venerating saints and
even celebrating Christmas had no biblical basis, was a sign
of paganism and a corruption of Christianity. They went on
(16:14):
a campaign to deemphasize the influence of the saints. Saint
Nicholas's public prominence suffered. The lack of surviving Three Daughters
images in England after the Reformation showed just how successful
the English Protestants were in their efforts. But what shielded
Saint Nicholas from total oblivion during this time was his
strong appeal outside of the reach of the church. His
(16:35):
message resonated so broadly that he moved from out of
the church and into the home. In areas like the Netherlands.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Christmas was from the very beginning a time of gift giving.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
That's Jerry Bowler, one of the world's leading historians on Christmas,
an author of Santa claus a biography.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
We have the wise men bringing gold, frank consense and
were for the baby Jesus. And when Christmas becomes able
to be openly celebrated in the Roman Empire, it picks
up the habit of gift giving from the Roman New Years,
which occurred around the same time. But for a long
(17:21):
time those gifts were not associated with children. They tended
to go up and down the social ladder, kind of
to Greece social relationships. Kids got presents, but they had
to demand it, and so there were centuries in the
Middle Ages which in the month of December, marginal groups
(17:44):
in society like old ladies or students or kids, could
go around and demand gifts. The notion that somebody would
secretly come and give them gifts doesn't appear until around
the year twelve hundred, when this begins to happen and
(18:05):
is attributed to Saint Nicholas. So we've got about three
hundred years of Saint Nicholas being the dominant midnight secret
gift bringer. He's got a real good run at it,
and there are Saint Nicholas fairs all over Europe in
which you could go and buy gingerbread or dolls or
(18:29):
toys for your kids. In the fifteen hundreds, however, the
Protestant Reformation comes along and where they're successful in western
and northern Europe, they attack the cult of saints, and
so Saint Nicholas is given the boot, and that means
in many places there is no Christmas gift bringer for
(18:53):
kids England, Scotland, it just completely disappears. But in some
places Saint Nicholas hangs on, and one of those is
the Netherlands.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
In that area, when the Dutch Reformed Church banned the
veneration of saints, it was taken up in secret churches
throughout the country, like a stocking maker's house in Amsterdam
that was quietly converted to a Saint Nicholas church. In
the early sixteen sixties, Saint Nicholas Day was celebrated privately
in the home with a family feast and gift giving
to children. Even with the Dutch Protestants passing statutes banning
(19:31):
the creation of Saint Nicholas cookies, a popular celebration treat,
Saint Nicholas would survive this attack, an important development for
when the Dutch would later settle in New Amsterdam or
what we now call the southern tip of New York City.
Even with the Protestants actively trying to eliminate the influence
of Saints, the ones that survived this time at staying
power because the ideas they represented were firmly planted in
(19:54):
the minds of their followers. Where the Catholic Church retained control,
the Saints still publicly survived. In places where the Protestants
were successful in minimizing their own influence, Saint veneration went
into hiding, and where the Protestants were successful in eliminating
even private honoring, other forms of overseers serving similar purposes
to Saint Nicholas arose. For example, the German Protestants invented
(20:17):
Christ's Kindle or Christ's Child to replace Saint Nicholas as
the Christmas season gift giver. This being was intended to
be the incarnation of Jesus as a child, thus not
violating the Church's saint rejection. The name Chris Kringle is
derived from Christ's kindle, and this angelic child stands as
a gift giver in some parts of the world to
this day. So the ideas that Saint Nicholas embodied kindness, generosity,
(20:42):
empathy for the downtrodden. These ideas were already firmly planted
in the minds of Christians in every enclave of the world.
Even with the Reformation attempting to eliminate Saint Nicholas, the
ideas he represented could not be eliminated, and they'd soon
be brought to the New World. At the beginning of
the nineteenth century, the Christmas season in New York City
(21:03):
looked nothing like it looks today. It more resembled a
Mardi Gras. People, mostly men, took to the streets in
a rowdy public display, some forming what appeared to be
marching bands that consisted of roaming mobs carrying anything that
made noise. Their aim was to cause disruption and for
one brief period of time flipped the tables on authority
(21:23):
and the societal elites. Many would go door to door,
targeting the town's upper class, requesting entry by singing intimidating songs,
the lyrics of which grew more hostile if entry were refused.
Upon entering, some would sing or perform makeshift plays and
wouldn't leave without food, alcohol, or other gifts.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
So around eighteen hundred, Christmas has a kind of bad
reputation again.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Jerry Bowler.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
It's a time for these groups of men to go
out and get drunk and rough up the bourgeoisie, beat
up immigrants or African amass, break into people's houses demanding hospitality,
and so on.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
And New York City wasn't the only place experiencing this phenomenon.
Places like Philadelphia and throughout the New England area fell
victim to this time of misrule, as it came to
be known where otherwise unacceptable behavior was widely tolerated or
at least expected. Every year, law enforcement would lose control
of the streets, elites would feel uneasy, merchants would be frustrated,
(22:29):
and the clergy appalled. A tool was desperately needed to
combat this unwelcomed annual invasion. Then something began to take shape.
A small group of New York City elites set out
to create a tool to combat this yearly raucous behavior,
with the ultimate goal of domesticating the holidays. The first
(22:51):
known to start its creation was John Pintered, what we
would now call a mover and shaker. Pintard was a
merchant and one man whirlwind that played a part in
establishing George Washington's birthday and the Fourth of July important
American holidays. The cornerstone of his campaign to domesticate Christmas
was to re establish the old world. Saint Nicholas Day
December sixth, widely recognized as the day of Saint Nicholas's
(23:14):
death as a day for sober, family centered celebration. The Dutch,
who kept Saint Nicholas alive in Europe during the Reformation,
were the first to settle in the land now known
as New York City, but according to the best estimates
of the time, the Dutch in the area did not
noticeably outnumber other non English Europeans and were outnumbered by
the Germans. But as we've already seen, Saint Nicholas had
(23:35):
already shown the ability to resonate with Europeans in every
available Christian enclave up into the Reformation. The ancestors of
these ancient Saint Nicholas celebrators were now in New York City,
no doubt, carrying the ideas that Saint Nicholas embodied along
with them. The venerable Saint was being celebrated below the
public view within some communities and laying dormant in others.
(23:58):
John Pinerd must have sensed this. In eighteen o four,
he helped found the New York His Say Historical Society.
This organization would boast a who's who of New York
City as members, including the city's mayor. Within this elite group,
the legend of Saint Nicholas began buzzing. They'd begin invoking
him at society events. But it was the imagination of
another New York Historical Society member, Washington Irving, which transformed
(24:22):
Saint Nicholas from a bishop into something magical. With the
eighteen oh nine publication of his satire The History of
New York from the Beginning of the World to the
End of the Dutch Dynasty. Irving published it under the
pseudonym Dietrich Knickerbacker on December sixth, eighteen o nine, Saint
Nicholas Day. This was not by chance in Irving's satirical history.
(24:43):
He fictionalized a long history of Saint Nicholas in the
New York City area and described the many festivities on
Saint Nicholas Day in the colony and the church dedicated
to him. He references Saint Nicholas throughout his story, in
one instance having him land on a rooftop and a
horse and wagon delivering presents down the chimney. The book
was thought to be a mayor his first literary masterpiece.
(25:05):
It was read widely by New York City's elite and
painted a picture of a city long under the protection
of Saint Nicholas. Again Jerry Bowler.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Around eighteen hundred, a group of elite New Yorkers, some
artists and poets and property owners, decided to try and
rescue Christmas from this raucous, violent booze fest, and they
resurrected Saint Nicholas. They drew on the folk memory of
(25:39):
the Dutch colonists and started talking about Saint Nicholas as
this Christmas time gift bringer. This is seen as a
way of domesticating Christmas.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
According to Saint Nicholas historian Charles W. Jones from eighteen
oh nine on Saint Nicholas was New York, and at
this time in New York City's development, this was important.
Like the port cities of Bari, Italy and Myra that
housed Saint Nicholas's remnants, New York City was quickly becoming
the commerce center and trading port of the United States.
(26:21):
Many immigrants would come to New York City before venturing
into other cities in the new country. And as we've
already seen, much of Europe had already displayed how the
idea of Saint Nicholas resonated broadly within their homelands. He
survived the Reformation by existing outside of the Reformed Church's reach,
living secretly in homes and Protestant regions and openly in
(26:41):
Catholic communities. And now New York City was introducing Saint
Nicholas to the New country and incoming immigrants at a
time that he was desperately needed. The most potent ideas
tend to find their birth in times of growth and instability.
New York City in the first decades of the nineteenth
century was fertile ground for such an idea. It was
(27:01):
a growing merchant city. Imported goods were coming in from
Europe and luxury book and jewelry stores were opening. The
city was becoming the book publishing center of the US.
But at the same time, annual misrule would take over
the streets where this very commerce was supposed to take place.
The growing civilized society, especially merchants and the elites, wanted
(27:23):
and needed a tool to stabilize this annual time of misbehavior,
and they found it in Saint Nicholas. On December sixth,
eighteen ten, a year after the publication of irving satirical
history book, John Pintered, the same man responsible for the
Fourth of July Holiday and George Washington's Holiday, launched a
(27:45):
campaign to establish Saint Nicholas Day celebration in New York City.
He molded the magical Saint Nicholas ideas expressed in Irving's
book and passed it out in the form of a
flyer at a banquet for members of the New York
Historical Society.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
So we have Washington Irving talking about it in his
Knickerbocker History of New York, and we have a guy
named Pintard who founds the New York Historical Society, who
publicizes pictures of Saint Nicholas, bringing good kids gifts and
(28:25):
bringing switches with which to tan the hides of bad kids.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
The first toast of the banquet introducing this image was
to Sancty Clause. But it was in eighteen twenty one
that a burst of creativity would occur.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Now Pintard and Washington Irving have started the ball rolling.
In eighteen twenty one, an unknown genius writes a poem
called A Children's Friend and illustrates it, publishes it in
New York. And this is the first time that we
(28:59):
see the word Santa Claus printed, and the first time
that we see a picture of Santa Claus, not as
a Catholic bishop in a Catholic bishop's robes, but as
a non sectarian adult in a fur robe or a
(29:19):
fur lined robe and a fur lined cap, coming into
people's houses on Christmas Eve. The first picture we see
of Santa Claus, and the first time Santa Claus appears
in a reindeer powered sleigh. Now that's just an act
of genius. We have no idea how he got it.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
The book was one of the first colored publications using
a new technique called lithography. Sure to stand out at
the time, the pages showed the old Santa Claus, as
they called him, whimsically traveling by a single reindeer, John Slagh.
Saint Nicholas's magical characteristic were growing, but most notably, the
Children's Friend book had Santa bringing his yearly gifts not
(30:09):
on Saint Nicholas Day December sixth, as the New York
elites wanted, but instead on Christmas Eve. This one slight
modification and deviation from Pintard's campaign proved to be the
chain Saint Nicholas needed to become the potent idea he
is today. You see. For the same reason as New
York City merchants and elites, New York City citizens with
(30:29):
roots in New England knew that a movement had taken
hold there to observe December twenty fifth as a day
of solemn Warship of Jesus Christ to combat the annual
public rowdiness. The shift to Saint Nicholas delivering gifts on
Christmas Eve, followed by a domestic, family centered day of
warship on Christmas Day provided the necessary combination for all
interest groups to rally around this new tool Santa Claus
(30:51):
to domesticate the holiday. But this book was printed in
color and as a result, it was expensive, so it
couldn't have been widely distributed. However, another member of the
New York historicals Stem, poet Clement Clark Moore, would step
in to make Santa Claus go viral, and when he did,
one of the biggest phenomena in the history of America
(31:11):
was born.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
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today and help us save America one story at a time.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Welcome back to red Pilled America. So, an unknown genius
published a book in eighteen twenty one that introduced Santa
Claus for the first time, and this anonymous author contributed
a few key traits, the biggest being that he had
Santa Claus arriving on Christmas Eve. But this book was
printed in color and as a result, it was expensive,
(31:51):
so it couldn't have been widely distributed. However, a member
of the New York Historical Society, poet Clement Clark Moore,
stepped in to make Santa Claus go viral. When a
chilly Christmas Eve in eighteen twenty two. With the entire
(32:11):
household gathered in his Chelsea mansion, Clement Clark Moore would
enter the history books as he unleashed the fully packaged
Santa Claus idea for the first time. Twas the night
before Christmas went all through the house, not a creature
was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung
by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas
soon would be there. By the end of his recital,
(32:32):
one of the most powerful ideas in American history was born.
Speaker 3 (32:36):
What happened next would start the phenomenon. The verses were
apparently copied into the album of a family member not
long after they were first uttered. This unnamed woman would
then let her friend from Troy, New York, copy the poem,
who then carried it to the editor of the Troy Sentinel.
Roughly one year later, on December twenty third, eighteen twenty three,
(32:58):
the Sentinel published an account of a visit from Saint Nicholas,
a fifteen hundred year old saint would transform into what
we now know is Santa Claus. The poem would soon
resonate throughout society. It spread the Christmas season of eighteen
twenty four, when no less than four new Almanacs included
(33:18):
Moore's poem. Other newspapers would follow suit. The Saturday Evening Post,
the New York Morning Courier, the Poulson's Daily Advertisers, and
many more would publish Moore's cheerful lyrics. Newsboys began using
the poem in one page flyers used to extract holiday
tips from customers. Advertisers turned to Moore's jolly character to
(33:40):
help peddle their goods. Within a decade, lightning speed for
the time, the entire country learned about the joys of
a domestic Saint Nicholas Christmas through Moore's poem.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
When Clement Clark Moore's A Visit from Saint Nicholas poem
took the Christmas eve que and package the concept for
mass public consumption, Santa Claus had become the tool everyone
was waiting for. The elites that wanted to remove the
targets from their backs would invoke Santa Claus to domesticate
the season. The book publishers and gift producers that needed
a robust sales environment to combat the frugality of the
(34:12):
time looked to Santa Claus to remove the stigma of
luxury purchases. The merchants that wanted stability in the streets
to sell their products saw Santa Clauss the perfect calming
old soul. The Church that desired an end the Christmas
season misrule and unchristian like behavior saw Santa Claus as
a necessary compromise. Thanks to Saint Nicholas, the rowdiness in
(34:32):
the streets turned from once accepted to now criminal conduct,
and parents that welcomed a tool to control their children's
behavior saw Santa Claus as a valuable instrument. Santa Claus
was the perfect tool to advance all of these groups causes.
Old Chris Kringle would find his home, thanks to artist
(34:54):
Thomas Nast, in the inaccessible and mysterious region of the
North Pole, the neutral ground necessary for this gift giver
to go global.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
It spread stream Europe, where he replaces older gift bringers
who are many of them scary. Perkda, the disemboweler Father
switch U will goats knock you overson is looking in
the eye. By nineteen hundred we have the Platonic ideal
(35:26):
of Santa Claus. The twentieth century has spent countless hours
trying to change Santa Claus. You know, they give him
a wife, they give him kids, they give him bad kids,
They fire him, they kill him, they retire him. You
know it doesn't work. He is always lodged at the
(35:48):
North Pole, always comes on Christmas Eve. You have tiny
regional variations. In Australia, he's pulled by six white kangaroos.
In the Cajun Country, he's in a pirogue canoe pulled
by alligators. Comes on surfboard in Hawaii, and so on.
But essentially that same grandfatherly figure.
Speaker 1 (36:12):
The new and improved Saint Nicholas, would be exported further
around the globe. Japan would even find love for the
toy carrying jolly old soul. Santa Claus is truly a
global phenomenon, which leads us back to the question why
did Santa Claus become so popular? Santa has become one
of the most powerful American ideas ever conceived because he
(36:34):
became a weapon of sorts. The most powerful ideas in
human culture can be used as a weapon or a
tool by a wide number of different groups. Santa Claus
was used by law enforcement to calm the rowdy streets.
He was used by product makers to sell their goods,
by retailers to attract customers, by the church to make
(36:55):
way for a family friendly day of worship, and by
parents to control unruly kids. Each of these groups found
Santa Claus a us useful tool for their own selfish purposes,
and he was crafted over centuries to become this useful tool.
Santa Claus is one of the greatest American inventions of
all time because it became a tool used by so
many different groups. Old Saint Nick became a stabilizing instrument
(37:18):
during a season that once was much less stable. We
should be thankful for his arrival and proud of his
American roots.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
So, Daddy, how is Santa Claus?
Speaker 1 (37:28):
Well, honey, I guess you could say he was born
in Troy, New York on December twenty third, eighteen twenty three.
That would make him two hundred and two years old
this year.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Wow, that's old.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
And on that note, Red Pilled America wishes you and yours.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Of a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Red Pilled America is an iHeartRadio original podcast. It's produced
by me Adrianna Cortez and Patrick Carelchi for Informed Ventures. Now,
our entire archive of episodes is only available to our
backstage subscribers. To subscribe, visit Redpilled America dot com and
click support in the top men you
Hosts And Creators
Adryana Cortez
Patrick Courrielche
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