Thursday, December 6, 2012

Was Santa Claus An American Civil War Veteran?


Even though mainstream historians had been very, very reluctant to mention this trivial factoid despite of the evidence, do you know that Santa Claus was an American Civil War veteran?

By: Ringo Bones

Despite of the overwhelming evidence of his service during the American Civil War, many tenured mainstream historians are still very, very reluctant to admit that Santa Claus served in the American Civil War in the Union side and is therefore a bona fide U.S. Civil War veteran. And believe-it-or-not, it is because of mid 19th Century era political cartoonist by the name of Thomas Nast who got Santa Claus “drafted” into the Union Army.

Political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who is also famous for illustrating the donkey that became the “mascot” of the U.S. Democratic Party, first illustrated Santa Claus at the height of the American Civil War during Nast’s tenure as a full time staff artist for Harper's Weekly magazine. Santa Claus’ original raison d’ĂȘtre was a “recruiter” for the Union Army. Near the end of the American Civil War, then U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and supreme commander of the Union Army characterized Nast as the North’s “best recruiting agent” due to his Santa Claus illustrations on Harper's Weekly.

Even though at present Santa’s costume now consisted of a red coat and a red elfin cap with white fur trimmings, when Thomas Nast first illustrated Santa during the height of the American Civil War, Santa’s costume, though still consisted of a coat and an elfin cap, were back then sported a color scheme modeled after the Union flag. Even though Santa Claus served under the Union’s side, I find it quite surprising that former Confederate states in the United State’s “Deep South” never seem to have very public misgivings about Santa Claus every time the Yuletide Season comes around.

1 comment:

Yvette said...

For all intents and purposes, Santa Claus is a bona fide American Civil War veteran after political cartoonist Thomas Nast "conscripted" Santa for the Union Army during the Christmas of 1862 in Harper's Weekly. And I too agree that the former Confederate states seems to be "silent" about Santa's allegiance to then Pres. Abraham Lincoln.