Early images of Father Christmas show him in a variety of coloured outfits. One early incarnation, dating from 1809, sees him in green. But, contrary to legend, red and white became his familiar dress long before Coca-Cola used the image. A familiar version of Father Christmas was used on the cover of Harper’s Weekly in 1863 but Coca Cola did not use his image until 1931.
As Mark Pendergrast, author of For God, Country and Coca-Cola, concluded: “Prior to the Sundblom illustrations, the Christmas saint had been variously illustrated wearing blue, yellow, green, or red…. After the soft drink ads, Santa would forever more be a huge, fat, relentlessly happy man with broad belt and black hip boots-and he would wear Coca-Cola red …. While Coca-Cola has had a subtle, pervasive influence on our culture, it has directly shaped the way we think of Santa.” See also: The clause that refreshes
Brighton School drops red Santa in Coke protest -
A school is forcing Santa Claus to wear a green suit this year – in case his traditional red costume reminds children of Coca-Cola adverts.
It claims Santa’s image has become too commercial and want pupils to learn about his origins instead of sitting on his lap and asking for the latest toy.
The school’s 200 pupils, aged from three to 16, will instead be greeted by a green-suited, slipper-wearing Father Christmas at its festive bazaar.
Sarah James, spokeswoman for the Steiner School in Brighton, said: ‘The red-suited Santa was created as a marketing tool by Coca-Cola, it is a symbol of commercialism.
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