Posted on 12/24/2005 2:56:30 PM PST by Sam Hill
Why do you keep posting to me? You seem rather defensive.
"Thomas Nast is best known for his Christmas drawings. His first appeared in Harper's Weekly for Christmas of 1862. His Christmas drawings mark the first appearance of Santa Claus as we know him today. Prior to this, Santa had passed through a series of stages beginning with a more religious-type figure.
The inspiration for how Nast's Santa should look came from Clement Moore's poem 'Twas a Night Before Christmas. Still lacking reading skills, he had his wife read to him while he prepared his drawings and engravings. On one occasion, Mrs. Nast read Clement Moore's poem to Thomas. That was all it took for inspiration.
The next 24 years saw Nast produce 76 Christmas engravings that were signed and published. Nast used Moore's poem to put it all together in visual form; a sleigh, reindeer, jolly old elf, filling the stockings hung by the chimney, and so forth.
In addition, Nast used his own imagination to expand upon the theme. He was the first to establish that Santa's home was in the North Pole. In this way, Santa didn't belong to any one country -- he became a citizen of the world. The concept of Santa having a workshop and elves to help him were also Nast's idea. Prior to his engravings, all children received gifts from Santa. Nast conceived the idea that bad children didn't get gifts from Santa. The custom of sending Santa a letter is also due to Thomas Nast. Although the custom of kissing under mistletoe was known in Europe prior to Nast's engravings, it was through his engravings in America that the custom caught on there.
Thomas Nast brought Christmas to a large audience through his engravings. The result of the impact that these drawings had on American's is astronomical. In Europe, Christmas was observed for centuries on December 6. By the late 1800's when Nast's Santa Claus gained popularity, Christmas Day was legally established as December 25 in all states and territories in the United States. In addition, an extended school vacation during this period became a custom. (A brief pause while all students write a thank you note to the Nast estate.)
From this seed, Christmas began the move to commercial and economic interests. Stores began including drawings of Santa (though not necessarily done by Nast) in their ads and tying it in with Christmas sales and promotions. Soon to follow was the custom of sending Christmas cards. Without Nast and his Christmas drawings he brought to the masses, it is hard to tell what Christmas and the customs that go with it would be like today." http://www.historybuff.com/library/refnast.html
...and the article referred to the NYT. So much for that research.
How very mature of you.
PING
Could be, I guess. He's sure got the side-burns for it. (As do a couple others.)
When I was very young, (I'm 70), my uncle was a fireman in Morristown, NJ. In the station was a drawing of Santa by Nast, if memory is correct, the origenal. I believe Nast was a member of that station, and as far as I know, the picture is still there.
So nowadays could we have Santa Claus with Howard Dean on a leash?? :^) ooops, I guess that would be "mean-spirited"..........
"So nowadays could we have Santa Claus with Howard Dean on a leash?"
I was trying to think of who would be the parallel to Jefferson Davis, and you're right -- Howard Dean is a very good candidate.
Of course he doesn't have one fraction of Jeff Davis' background or integrity.
And Jeff Davis might have been a "rebel" but he was no traitor -- like Dean is.
You're right, Jefferson Davis possessed a level of intellect and integrity that charlatans of the contemporary left like Dean cannot even imagine.
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