Santa going down the chimney
Modern pop culture portrays Santa as a big, jolly man, but if anyone has read A Visit from St. Nicholas, you'd know that he is....get ready for this....AN ELF!! Yes, one of the earliest accounts of modern Santa folklore, a story which includes flying reindeer and a chimney portrays him as tiny. It also seems the narrator isn't all that nice when describing him:
He had a broad face, and a little round belly
That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly:
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laugh'd when I saw him in spite of myself;
So is the narrator discrimiating not only Santa's weight (which we all know isn't that great) AND his size? Is that why Santa is no longer portrayed as an elf, but rather, a human-sized character, while his helpers are elves? When, exactly, did Santa "grow?" The 1930s, when Coke used Santa in its Christmas ad campaigns? Did they want to make him more "real" rather than mythological, like, say, the Tooth Fairy (and you have to admit that the Tooth Fairy gets much, much less PR than Santa or even the Easter Bunny!) Or is it just another form of height discrimination...you know, Santa is the boss. He owns his workshop....he's the CEO...and you know, most CEOs are tall...Just a thought...
