00:00We're devoting this entire episode to unwrapping the curious and sometimes weird origins that make up this holiday.
00:07Today we start with the big guy.
00:10Santa Claus is basically a mash-up between St. Nicholas, Father Christmas, and Sinterklaas.
00:15But up until the early 20th century, he was depicted wearing all kinds of colors.
00:20Green, blue, brown, you know, the full Crayola palette.
00:24So have you always wondered when Santa started wearing red?
00:27Well, it wasn't until the 1930s that Santa went full holiday fire hydrant, and we owe it all to Coca-Cola.
00:35A series of Coke ads arrived featuring a warm, rosy-cheeked Santa in a bright red suit, and those ads were everywhere.
00:43I was basically a holiday influencer.
00:46Now granted, Santa did sometimes wear red before Coke, but it was their massive worldwide advertising reach that made his red suit iconic.
00:54Downloaded wherever you get your podcasts.
00:57A part of the Podcast Playground Network.
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