Why does Santa Claus dress in red? Here's a brief history of the legendary figure

Christmas is the time for celebration and fun and each year the Christmas traditions and their popularity only seems to be growing. Santa Claus is an important part of the Christmas traditions and Santa along with his eight reindeers have not only stirred the hearts of kids but adults too. Santa Claus is always dressed in red but ever wondered why? Also, how did the U.S civil war shape Santa's image to the masses? It is time to think about Santa Claus's history and ponder on the Christmas traditions that have been going on for years. There was a time when Santa Claus looked quite different from how he does today and he did not wear red. 

READ:Adele Poses With Santa Clause And Grinch Ahead Of The Holidays

The history of Santa Claus and the connection to the U.S. Civil war

During the early 19th century, Santa was sketched differently from artist to artist, sometimes skinny, often short, and he had no specific color. There were poems written on his description and many people portrayed Santa to be wearing fur coats and coming with his eight reindeers. Historians give credit to American cartoonist Thomas Nast who popularize an image of Santa Claus to the masses. This image was similar to the Kris Kringle. The cartoonist drew an illustration of Santa in 1863 naming it as "Santa Claus in Camp". This image showed Santa as an elf and not the huge jolly Santa we have today. Thomas Nast also made people believe that Santa lives at the North Pole. Abraham Lincoln called Santa the northern states’ best recruiting agent and many assumptions of Santa were made. Later, the cartoonist changed Santa's clothing to red making him look like today's Santa. 

READ:Is Santa Claus Real? Here's How The Legend Of Santa Claus Came Into Being

Why does Santa Claus wear Red?

Later, in the year 1920s, the Coca-Cola Company started using Santa as a way to advertise their beverage as sales were down and people would not drink cola during the winter. The idea became a huge hit as people associated red to Santa and the cola. Children would even leave cola at their doorsteps in hope of Santa coming to them. Later, the image of Santa in red was so huge that it became impossible for people to imagine Santa Claus in any other color.

READ: Christmas Traditions Around The World That Are Spine-chilling And Terrifying To The Core