The Origins of Christmas Legends and Traditions We Didn’t Know

The modern image of Santa Claus, clad in red and white, is a patchwork of various traditions rather than a singular invention. This iconic look was already taking shape in books and cartoons when Coca-Cola, spotting a perfect match for their brand colors, harnessed this image for an advertising campaign in the 1930s.

During the Depression era, Coke’s ads showed Santa sipping on a refreshing Coca-Cola instead of the traditional glass of milk, further cementing this image in the public’s mind. These ads reached a vast audience in an age before national TV, but while Coca-Cola didn’t create this version of Santa, it did help popularize an image that was already part of the cultural zeitgeist.