I know this fairy tale sounds good - coke invented santa and it's all a marketing ploy - but it's untrue. http://www.christmascarnivals.com/father-christmas/fa

I know this fairy tale sounds good - coke invented santa and it's all a marketing ploy - but it's untrue. http://www.christmascarnivals.com/father-christmas/father-christmas-figure.html http://www.christmascarnivals.com/father-christmas/father-ch... "The figure of Father Christmas as a jolly and friendly old man, with a small stature but a big heart, emerged through the writings and paintings of the artists during the 1800s. Clement Moore was the first to describe our Father Christmas as the chubby old man, with rosy cheeks, wearing a furry overcoat and hat in his poem, which inspired Robert Weir to paint the first portrait of Santa Claus in 1837. He made Santa wear a short suit and a stocking hat as he puffs at his long clay pipe. Finally it was in 1863, that we get to see Santa more as a real person through the pictures drawn by Thomas Nast. This is the final Father Christmas figure that we now commonly see being used for Christmas accessories and ornaments." And a picture from 1800s shows him as the 'cheery fat guy in the red suit'. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/522799/67600/Merry-Old-Santa-Claus-by-Thomas-Nast# http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/522799/67600/M... So no, when I show my kids pictures of Santa Claus, it's absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Coke.