# Modern American conception of Santa

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-american-conception-of-santa/741390>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 26, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-american-conception-of-santa/741390 "2015-12-26T13:50:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-american-conception-of-santa/741390/1 "2015-12-26T13:50:10Z")

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Before Clement Moore’s “The night before Christmas”, was Santa ever depicted as a jolly old elf wearing a red suit with white trim and a black belt with round belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly? Or is our modern conception really an outgrowth of the poem?

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-american-conception-of-santa/741390/2 "2015-12-26T14:33:14Z")

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Clement Moore with a strong assist from Thomas Nast:

[http://webb-deane-stevens.org/celebrating-the-origin-of-santa-and-three-centuries-of-christmas-at-the-webb-deane-stevens-museum/](http://webb-deane-stevens.org/celebrating-the-origin-of-santa-and-three-centuries-of-christmas-at-the-webb-deane-stevens-museum/)

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**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-american-conception-of-santa/741390/3 "2015-12-26T15:27:23Z")

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FYI, [here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1861/did-the-popular-image-of-santa-claus-originate-in-a-coca-cola-ad-campaign) is a SDSAB column on this.

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-american-conception-of-santa/741390/4 "2015-12-26T21:07:58Z")

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Thanks to both of you. The two links provide a pretty complete answer to my question.