Through his newspaper and magazine drawings, Thomas Nast shaped our visual image of Santa Claus by illustrating Clement Moore’s poem, “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Nast also gave us Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey, and the Republican elephant mascots.
Born in Landau, Germany, in 1840, Nast came to the United States at age 6. Bored with school, in part because he did not understand English, he dropped out of school with little reading skill. Most of his life, he depended on other people to read to him.
Nast started to art school, but tight finances forced him to quit that school as well. The owner of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper let the youthful Nast draw a sample picture, mostly to get rid of him. But the drawing was so good that Leslie hired him. Nast would later draw for Harper’s Weekly and other publications.
Nast began his career before the invention of photoengraving, the pre-computer age process which enabled publishers to reproduce pictures of a quality satisfactory for publication. Drawings could be reproduced, so work such as Nast’s was extremely valuable to publishers. During the Civil War, for example, 55 of Nast’s engravings ran in Harper’s Weekly.
In addition to giving us the popular picture of Santa Claus, Nast determined that Santa lived at the North Pole where he had a toyshop with elves who made the toys. Nast also started the custom of children writing letters to Santa. His drawings also popularized kissing under the mistletoe, a custom popular in Europe.
Nast, who died on this date, December 7, in 1902, did more serious work than drawing Santa Claus. He became a sharp-penned political cartoonist who exposed government corruption. His most famous exposé was against the political ring in New York City, run by William Marcy Tweed. “Boss” Tweed took millions of tax dollars for personal enrichment. He eventually served prison time, with no small thanks to Nast’s cartoons.
The two sides of Nast’s illustrations: his Santa Claus drawings and his political realism remind us of the two elements of Christmas: the fanciful and the spiritual.
As we are caught up in the hectic pace of shopping and party-going, Advent can provide a counter balance. We don’t have to hunt for Santa Claus. He is every where. We may have to search for quiet moments to reflect on the meaning of Jesus's birth, but we should make the effort. It will be worthwhile.
A Verse for Today
“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. But you refused” (Isaiah 30:15).
Each day through New Year’s Day, January 1, 2013, inspirational thoughts will appear here, in keeping with Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. These are from my book, Reflections for the Festive Seasons. © 2002. All rights reserved.
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