Santa through the years: medieval fresco depicting St Nicholas, the inspiration for today's Santa Claus. A medieval fresco depicting St. Nicholas from the Boyana Church, near Sofia, Bulgaria.
Santa through the years: 1686's 'The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas.' Josiah King's The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas (1686). Courtesy: Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.
Santa through the years: Folk tale depiction of Father Christmas riding on a goat. St. Nicholas and Sinterklaas were merged with the British character Father Christmas to create the character known to Britons and Americans as Santa Claus. Folk tale depiction of Father Christmas riding on a goat.
Santa through the years: 1862 cover of "A Visit from Saint Nicholas." Cover of the novel “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore, 1862. Published/Created: New York, J. G. Gregory, c1862.
Santa through the years: An 1863 version of Santa is seen greeting Union soldiers in this Harper's Weekly cover artwork. January 3, 1863 cover of Harper's Weekly, one of the first depictions of Santa Claus.
Santa through the years: 1881 drawing by Thomas Nast. Thomas Nast's famous drawing, "Merry Old Santa Claus", from the January 1881 edition of Harper's Weekly. Nast immortalized Santa Claus' current look with an initial illustration in an 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly.
Santa through the years: 1930 Saturday Evening Post Coca-Cola ad. In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department store Santa in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda fountain, which was located in the department store of Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post in December 1930.
Santa through the years: 1931 Coca-Cola ad that helped popularize modern version of Santa. Coca-Cola ad exec Archie Lee commissioned Haddon Sundblom to paint Santa Claus. The drawing helped popularized the modern-day version of Santa. ILLUSTRATOR: Haddon Sundblom
Santa through the years: 1947's Miracle on 34th Street. The hit 1947 movie "Miracle on 34th Street" released by 20th Century Fox.
Santa through the years: Today's Santa. Courtesy music2fish2 (eric lanning) via Flickr
