Why does Father Christmas wear red when delivering presents?

Global delivery on a different scale but do you know why Father Christmas wears red when he's delivering your Christmas presents' Although Father Christmas (or Santa Claus) was featured in illustrations wearing a scarlet tunic, it was only after Swedish artist Haddon Sundblom started drawing ads for Coke that it became the universally recognised iconic figure we all know and love today.

If Spatial Global were a mythical character – it would be Father Christmas!

Famous for delivering presents around the world overnight, although possible, even Spatial Global see the outstanding performance of Father Christmas as something they can’t compete with. But, we’re confident that there are areas of our global delivery service which even Father Christmas would marvel at – so if Spatial Global were to be a mythical character it would be Father Christmas for his outstanding delivery capability across the world.

 

Why does Father Christmas wear red when delivering presents'

Santa's outfit is believed to have been inspired by the Bishop of Myra in the 4th Century, long before the soft drinks advertising campaign. In medieval England and for centuries afterwards, the figure of Father Christmas represented the spirit of benevolence and good cheer. In the 19th Century Dutch emigrants took their story of a legendary gift-bringer called Sinterklaas to America, where he eventually became known as Santa Claus. Between 1863 and 1886, Harper's Weekly magazine ran a series of engravings by Thomas Nast. He developed an image of Santa very close to the modern-day one. From these engravings the concept of Santa's workshop and the idea of writing letters to him also developed. In recent history, the red and white suit has been fixed and standardised through publishing and advertising campaigns – so where did that originate'

 


 

Coke ran a campaign with a plump and jolly Father Christmas wearing red for 30 years

Coca-Cola's involvement kicks in in the early 1930s when Swedish artist Haddon Sundblom started drawing ads for Coke featuring a plump and jolly Santa in a red coat trimmed with fur and secured with a large belt. His drawings were used in the company's festive advertisements for the next 30 years, well and truly cementing the image. Of course, one sure fire way of putting the Coca-Cola story to rest would be to ask the man himself. Unfortunately, this time of year finds him so busy he has been unable to return our calls



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