The Consumption of Goods
The birth of Santa Claus as we know him in a capitalist context began in 1773 in New York1 as an effort by colonists to distance themselves from the “Father Christmas” tradition of Britain and highlight its Dutch origins by celebrating St. Nicholas. The engraving pictured features both the Dutch verse and its English translation demonstrating the Americans' desire to align themselves with a non-English tradition that also tapped into their own new cultural traditions. Various stories and poems were produced including the famous poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas. Efforts were made to popularize this figure who became Santa Claus, intwining his mythos with gift giving and consumerism, one that matched the American mythos that was finding its footing in the early 19th century.
The pamphlet was an essential player in the American Revolution, and it went on to play an important role in numerous social and political movements after. Something that was becoming more and more common in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the use of pamphlets for religious purposes, specifically for all the emerging sects of Christianity that were growing more popular. Religious pamphlets were already well into existence before the Revolution but their proliferation in the United States indicates an evolving marketing strategy for churches and even more broadly, religions.2 Even when preaching against the excessive consumerism that was common in the commerce-obsessed nation, the religious organizations had to tap into the market to reach their target audience; they had to sell pamphlets and religious memorabilia.
The American Tract Society founded in 1814, was one such organization. They delivered their religious messages through the selling of pamphlets, often sermons that were transcribed and printed into small booklets for the masses. This happened in no small part because of money. In their constitution published in 1857, they account their printing and sales for the year 1825, showing their growing numbers in a manner reminiscent of a business model.3
1Davis, M.A. “Today’s Santa Claus is rooted in American mythology.” Washington Post, Dec. 22, 2022.
2Mark S. Schantz, “Religious Tracts, Evangelical Reform, and the Market Revolution in Antebellum America,” Journal of the Early Republic 17, no. 3 (1997): 425–66, https://doi.org/10.2307/3123943.
3“A Brief History of the American Tract Society, Instituted at Boston, 1814: And Its Relations to the American Tract Society at New York, Instituted 1825. [Machine Readable Transcription] Michigan State University Libraries, Digital Sources Center.,” accessed November 26, 2024, https://archive.lib.msu.edu/AFS/dmc/ssb/public/all/briefhistory/brie.html.