As children sleep peacefully this Christmas Eve, they will no doubt be imagining Santa Claus delivering them Star Wars LEGO sets, Frozen 2 dolls and everything else from the snowy landscape of the North Pole. wish list. Of course, they depict Santa Claus at the North Pole, as they've seen him living at the North Pole in many Christmas movies, books, and TV specials, from the perennial Rankin/Bass show to more modern classics like 2003's Elf .
It would seem even more magical if we told you that no one really knows why Santa Claus lives there, but there is a relatively traceable paper trail: the first known mention of Santa Claus' North Pole residence is An 1866 Harper's Weekly cartoon.
According to Smithsonian.com, famed political cartoonist Thomas Nast — who was also responsible for establishing the donkey and elephant as symbols of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Party, respectively — —First began creating Harper's Weekly Christmas cartoons in January as Union propaganda for the Civil War. 1863. To borrow an image from Clement Clarke Moore's (allegedly) 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (which you might recognize as "The Night Before Christmas"), Nast developed the white-bearded, rosy-cheeked, all-around jolly fellow we know today, showing him handing out gifts to Union soldiers, climbing up chimneys while soldiers' wives prayed, and more.
The comics became so popular that Nast departed from his source material and began inventing his own details to add to Saint Nick—like where he came from. The December 29, 1866 issue of Harper's Weekly debuted a multi-image cartoon titled "Santa Claus and His Creations," which included a small inscription along the circular border that read Santa Claussville, NP We don't know exactly why Nast chose the North Pole (or if it was even his own idea), but there are several reasons that would make sense during that time period, the *** reports.
For one thing, Santa Claus has been widely associated with snow because most of the publishing companies that produce Christmas cards and other content are based in New England, where it actually snows around Christmas. Furthermore, the 1840s and 1850s were partly characterized by high-profile—and in the case of Franklin's ill-fated—attempts to explore the Arctic, and there was widespread public interest in this mysterious, poorly mapped region. Because the poles are uninhabited, Santa Claus and his elves can toil for a year undisturbed by prying eyes; and, because they remain unclaimed, Santa Claus may remain a bastion of kindness in every country.
While we may never know Nast's personal reasons for placing Santa Claus at the North Pole, one thing is for sure: At this point, it's hard to imagine him living anywhere else. It’s also hard to imagine him riding a broomstick, brandishing a gun, or smoking a cigarette (learn the story behind early Santa Claus here ).