Posted last year, but I love it, so here it is again!
In this fun four minute history of Santa Claus, CGP Gray explains how the character evolved, the role of Coca Cola, his conquest of the globe (i.e., Santa’s cultural imperialism), and the ongoing debates about where, exactly, he lives.
Also from CGP Gray:
- A Case Against the Penny
- What the Bleep is the United Kingdom?!
- The Economics of Royalty
- The Social Construction of the Continents
- A History and Account of Daylight Savings
- The Mathematics of Electoral Politics
- An Overview of the Electoral College
Comments 15
Anna — December 21, 2012
Cute, but inaccurate on many accounts. Come on, this idea of cultural "imperialism" is sooo overblown in relation to European and/or Christian-dominant cultures (and I'm including a large cultural aspect of South America here). Christmas was established on those dates as a christianization of the Greco-Roman fesival Saturnalia (in all likelihood, Jesus was actually born in March or April), which is a phenomenon that you can observe with many pagan traditions.
Christmas does have to do with the winter solstice, but for more ritualistic reasons than the northern European cold, and in any case, the geography is off. Plus, the Eastern Orthodox calendar celebrates Christmas on January 7th (most Orthodox-dominant countries adhere to this calendar, with the notable exception of Greece).
Saint Nicholas was an early Christian saint associated with gift-giving in widespread parts of the Christian world, not just the Netherlands, although the Dutch may well have a version of St. Nick that most closely resembles the modern understanding of Santa Claus. In Eastern Orthodox traditions, it is actually Saint Basil who is Santa Claus, and while he too has been merged into the current understanding of Santa Claus, he is still a distinct figure from St. Nick. And he delivers his gifts on New Year's Eve, not Christmas Eve. All the more time for Santa to make it to every household, I guess...
These short clips really are cute, but they tend to contain an awful lot of inaccuracies, and they overlook a lot of important details for the sake of being, well, short.
Vaughn Patterson — December 21, 2012
Would you still be acting this lighthearted if you were raped by a guy in a Santa suit?
William Angel — December 21, 2012
And what is Santa bringing YOU for Christmas?
http://funnydoom.com/wp-content/gallery/14santa039s_weapon_inventory/santas_weapon_inventory-0001.jpg
decius — December 22, 2012
What we really need is a "History of the history of X" style of report, where various historical histories of Christmas, Santa, and other modern cultural things are compared across time.
Henrietta K Levy — December 22, 2012
Blame It On The Voices?
With all the recent stigmatization of people with mental illness, I'd have thought you'd know better. For shame.
anon — December 25, 2012
mmm and Dutch Sinterklaas's slave friend Swarte Piet (Black Peter)? http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/05/black-pete-race-netherlands
Bill R — December 20, 2013
Perfect for the holidays! Thank you...
And I will ensure to stock up on Coke for next week's festivities. I never knew how much credit they really reserved.
HO HO HO indeed.