‘The Santy Claus myth’: The Politicisation of Santa Claus During the Great Depression

ABSTRACT

This article argues that the commercial celebration of Christmas and children’s reverence to Santa Claus became politically contentious during the Great Depression when well-established Christmas traditions were threatened by economic strife. Growing numbers of parents simply could not afford to fill their children's stockings. Santa Claus was easily recognisable as a religious and cultural figure but during the Depression era the potential political connotations and messages of the legend became clear, especially when under threat. The nation’s ability or otherwise to indulge youths in Christmas fantasies and fun became a barometer for the health of capitalism and the nation. Santa Claus embodied important American values including the emerging right to a childhood, Christianity, and the capitalist system. Some radical youths participated in so-called anti-Christmas parties and pledged to expose what they called ‘the Santy Claus myth’ to their peers whilst journalists, literary figures, philanthropists, and the federal government mobilized together to protect Christmas traditions including the cult of Santa Claus. In doing so they worked to protect a form of celebration which had wider implications. Any percieved attack on the notion of Santa Claus was not only an attack on fun but was interpretted as an attack on the United States and its ideals.

KEYWORDS:

• Childhood rituals
• Christmas
• Communism
• Great depression
• Santa claus

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. An example of Santa Claus being profaned is the furore that followed Time magazine’s publication of a photograph in 1948 which showed robed members of the Ku Klux Klan alongside their Grand Dragon who was dressed as Santa, distributing Christmas presents. The magazine itself called the photograph the ‘most incongruous’ of the week, whilst reactions included calling the spectacle ‘perverted’ and proof ‘there is such a thing as the Devil’ (Hagstrom 1966, 251).

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Jack Hodgson

Jack Hodgson is a lecturer at the University of Roehampton, London. His work examines the histories of childhood, boyhood masculinity, children’s art, and children’s political activism. He was recently awarded the Scottish Association for the Study of America’s Ellen Craft Prize. His work has also appeared in Rethinking History and the Journal of American Studies and his first book, Young Reds in the Big Apple, is under contract with Fordham University Press.