Is there any historical significance to Santa's wearing the colour red? When did legend/folk tales begin to associate red with Santa and why.?
2006-12-12 19:32:55 · 9 answers · asked by Don 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
St Nicholas was a bishop in Medieval Turkey and his robes were red per tradition. Since then, he has been depicted in whatever clothing is common for that area. In Scandanavia for example, he's depicted wearing brown/green robes with fur trim. A different area portrays him in different clothing of a different color.
Then the Coca Cola marketing team decided to take all the credit for the red color even though it was around since the beginning.
2006-12-12 19:40:14 · answer #1 · answered by Cinnamon 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's also associated with Blood, Passion, Life and Revolution.
Santa wears it to remind the world of the Blood shed of the innocents First by Herod Antipas the Jew King who slew all the babies in his mad search for the Christ!
Down through the Ages right up until the present history records over and over the outcasts the Jews have been based on this the first act of the destruction of the Christ. So the Race has borne the self-pronounced guilt from those day to this.
The reason the Bishops vestments are red is as shown and hence St. Nicholas wore the Bishops robes of red.
2006-12-12 20:19:55 · answer #2 · answered by baltic072 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
St Nicholas is traditionally shown dressed as a Roman Catholic Bishop - mainly in a purple 'cope' (cape) as being both the colour for a bishop and for the Church period leading up to Christmas known as "Advent". I have never associated red (or white) with him, nor seen any references to it in Christian books.
As "Sinta Klaas" (I think), he was imported to the USA and has spread around the world.
Other countries had "Father Winter" who became the same as the English "Father Christmas". They traditionally wore long robes of fur-trimmed green and 'crowns' of holly - as symbols of the re-birth of the year to come.
As they all mixed in together, they created the "Santa Claus" of today.
But he was, in fact, 'finished' by Coca-Cola in the 1920s, when they launched an ad campaign showing the familiar "jolly fat man in the red suit" (trimmed in white).
Red and white were never part of St Nick's 'required colours'.
If you see a well done movie version of "The Christmas Carol", almost always either the "Ghost of Christmas Past" or the "Ghost of Christmas Present" - or both - will appear dressed as Father Christmas/Father Winter, NOT 'Santa Claus' in red and white!
2006-12-12 21:02:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think the stereotypical Santa, created by Coca Cola is why we associate Santa with wearing red. It looks nice against the white snow. Don't you think so?
2006-12-12 19:36:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Red, yellow, green are Pagan colors and have rubbed off on Christmas. Santa's red garb is very colorful and therefore makes him jolly with red clothes and red cheeks. Rudolf the reindeer's nose is red as well.
2006-12-12 19:37:18 · answer #5 · answered by wunderkind 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It originated in the 30's with a Coca-cola ad.
2006-12-12 23:04:11 · answer #6 · answered by Stephen 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because it may look stupid with Santa being pink and eco-friendly. The white trim makes him stick out with that little glow to him. as well some human beings have white Christmas timber.
2016-10-18 05:30:09 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
His history began as him being dressed as a catholic bishop, which has alot of red color to the dress. The rest is bastardised history.
2006-12-12 19:45:10 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
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2006-12-12 19:36:38 · answer #9 · answered by jumbo_dumdum 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋