The modern, familiar image of Santa Claus was popularized in the 19th century by the American illustrated magazine Harper’s Weekly through the work of political cartoonist Thomas Nast.

The publication that truly established and popularized the modern visual identity of Santa Claus was the influential illustrated journal Harper's Weekly.

Dec 18, 2008 · David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994. The image of Santa Claus as a jolly large man in a red-and-white suit was the standard long before Coca-Cola co …

1 day ago · The modern image of Santa Claus was largely popularized in the mid-19th century by political cartoonist Thomas Nast through a series of illustrations published in Harper’s Weekly.

2 days ago · Santa Claus: His pudgy, red-suited, white-bearded Santa helped standardize the modern American image of Father Christmas (though Coca-Cola’s later campaigns often receive credit). …

Dec 10, 2025 · Did Coca-Cola invent Santa Claus? There is an often repeated myths that the modern image of Santa Claus—red clothes, white beard, fat—was created by the Coca Cola company in the …

Sundblom’s Santa debuted in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as in Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and others.