Although Santa is the most popular figure in our folklore, many people do not know why he is called Santa; so I’ll tell you right now. But first, let’s find out who Santa Claus is; that freckled old man in a red suit who laughs in Disney’s Santa’s workshop on Christmas Eve and in Coca-Cola commercials is.
Santa Claus was originally a saint; St. Nicholas who gave away his money to the poor. In the 17th century, Dutch emigrants brought their saint to North America, where in the 1930s – thanks to the Swedish descendant Haddon Sundblom, who was an advertising cartoonist for Coca Cola – he got his current look.
But our own gray and rather grumpy farm elf – as big as a four-year-old and with a red hood – didn’t bring any presents, quite the contrary. Instead, you have to give him a plate of porridge during Christmas – as a thank you for helping on the farm throughout the year; otherwise it could go really bad.
The farm elf’s transformation we mainly have Jenny Nyström to thank for the kind and generous Santa Claus. Namely, it is her illustrations – to, among other things, Viktor Rydberg’s poem from 1881 with the line “only Santa is awake” – that shaped our view of Santa and also gave rise to millions of Christmas cards.
Another important artist in this context is, of course, John Bauer, whose story collection “Among Elves and Goblins” was published in 1907. But also greats such as Carl Larsson, Elsa Beskow and Einar Norelius have naturally influenced our image of Santa.
Then only remains A gnome; namely the garden gnome invented in Germany in the 1870s by August Heissner. His ceramic elves are now sought-after collector’s items but also excellent clues to our elf’s name. Just like our Santa, Heissner’s elves actually guard Santa.