12 Different Ways Santa Claus Has Been Depicted Around the World

Use the name “Santa Claus” in a sentence, and images of a happy little fat guy dressed in red and hanging out with a sleigh full of reindeer will immediately flood the brains of whoever happens to be listening. But that wasn't always the case. Believe it or not, Christmastime's most philanthropic mascot is a relatively new invention, one whose iconic appearance was fine-tuned with the help of legendary artists such as Thomas Nast and Norman Rockwell.

We're looking back more than 325 years to uncover 12 Different Ways Santa Claus Has Been Depicted Around the World.

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Location: The Netherlands

As children, we're taught a few keys things about Santa Claus: he lives in the North Pole with Mrs. Claus, a hard-working crew of elves, and a herd of reindeer. Also, if you obey everything your parents tell you during the year, he just may shimmy his way down your chimney on Christmas Eve and leave you a gift.

What gets left out is that the now-universal image of Santa Claus is actually an amalgamation of several other people (both real and imagined). Among Santa's predecessors is Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Greek bishop who was known as quite the miracle-worker. While Santa himself is often referred to as "St. Nick," the earliest depictions of Nicholas paint a much more pious figure.

Location: Boston, MA

Originally published anonymously in 1823, it eventually came to light that Clement Moore was the author of the popular poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas." In later versions, the name was changed—you know it better as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"—and illustrations were added. In this 1864 version, Santa's suit was yellow.

Location: New York

Thomas Nast’s 1863 cover illustration for Harper’s Weekly is largely considered the first version of what today’s Santa Claus looks like: chubby, happy, and bearded.

Location: Sweden

Ironically, in addition to St. Nicholas, one of the other earlier figures to influence the modern-day Santa Claus is the Norse god Odin, who with his bushy beard and tendency to take to the skies on an eight-legged horse, was like a darker version of Kris Kringle. Oh yeah, he was kind of into warfare.

Location: London

In 1686, Josiah King published a tongue-in-cheek pamphlet titled The Examination and Trial of Father Christmas to celebrate England's decision to reinstate Christmas as a national holy day. In it, Father Christmas—another Santa Claus precursor—was described as "so smug and pleasant, his cherry cheeks appeared through his thin milk white locks."

Location: Japan

Though the legend of Santa Claus was initially popularized in America and Europe, by the early 1910s, the character was beginning to get global recognition. In this 1914 Japanese illustration, Santa's appearance remains close to the American standard.

Location: Indianapolis, IN

Alongside Thomas Nast, Norman Rockwell's annual holiday covers for The Saturday Evening Post helped to formalize the vision of Santa that still holds true today. Santa's Expenses was one of his first.

Location: United States

Though The Coca-Cola Company has been featuring Santa Claus in its advertisements since the 1920s, in 1931 they made a conscious decision to depict a more family-friendly version of ye jolly one, and brought on artist Haddon Sundblom to achieve this. Sundblom’s ad—“My Hat’s Off to the Pause That Refreshes”—is one of the first images to depict a natural Santa Claus, not a man in a suit.

Location: United States

Just as America got comfortable with the bright red version of Santa Claus established by Thomas Nast and Norman Rockwell, a World War II-era poster from the Office for Emergency Management, War Production Board used Santa's wholesome image for a piece of propaganda.

Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands

In 2001, Los Angeles-based sculptor Paul McCarthy was commissioned to create a holiday-themed piece for the city of Rotterdam, which was intended to stand near the city’s famous concert hall located in tourist-friendly Schouwburgplein square. The final product, however, was not as wholesome as expected. The phallic nature of what was supposed to be a Christmas Tree in Santa’s right hand led to the statue being dubbed “The Buttplug Gnome.” It took seven years for Santa Claus to find a permanent home: Eendrachtsplein Square.

Location: Toronto, Canada

In 2008, Canada-based stock photo agency Crestock got into the Christmas spirit, sort of, with an “Apocalyptic Christmas” Photoshop contest that offered the following brief: “The cost of living is up, our savings are gone, our jobs are at risk, and the economy is in free-fall. Now all we need is a seasonal greeting card to match!” The results, including this sullen vision of Christmas crumbling all around the big guy himself, were appropriately depressing (but in an artistic way).

Location: Siena, Italy

In 2009, the advertising executives at Italy’s Milc, Siena decided they could no longer sit by idly and watch as their industry faltered due to worldwide advertising budget cuts. So they took action and launched a mass advertising campaign of their own, which featured photographs of beheaded creative types, including one that featured a not-so-jolly looking Santa Claus. His job title in the piece is “Dream Developer.” And the message is simple: Don’t cut a dream.