We recently made a post with a picture of two Santa Clauses sided by side. The Corporate Santa, jolly and red, holding a Coke bottle, and then the real Santa, St. Nicholas also in Red bishop’s vestments. Some people were discussing in the comments section about whether Santa (St. Nicholas) was really red or more probably green. Many were suggesting that his actual color would have been green. What is the truth?
The most ancient icons and images we have of St. Nicholas from the 500s to the 900s depict him in bishop’s vestments of muted reds, golds, browns and white. Then, starting around the 10th century, red begins to become his prominent color. He is most often depicted in ceremonial bishop attire which represented sacrifice, charity, and service. He was seen in red liturgical garments with a miter and sometimes even a cape.
A more modern Saint Nicholas portrayal started around the 14th century where Santa becomes more associated with gifts, giving to the poor, and again, dressing in red. Bishop’s in the Catholic church always wore bright red and didn’t shift to a more purple/magenta color until about the 1800s. So the tradition of Saint Nicholas and Santa Clause wearing red was already in effect for many centuries before the modern blending and transformation to a secular Santa.
It was 19th century which gave us the beginnings of the modern Santa we know today. St Nicholas was blending with a more secular Santa Claus or “Father Christmas.” Green is often associated with this more secularized Father Christmas in England, which didn’t have much or anything to do with Saint Nicholas.
So, green was more for Father Christmas, and red was more for Santa Clause, especially in the West. Yes, the jolly old elf, Santa Clause who flies on reindeer, the corporate Santa, is always in red and white. However, the true Santa Claus, St. Nicholas was most often portrayed in red bishop and liturgical attire through the centuries.
