the life and adventures of santa claus 1902

Bradbury published a hymnal that included a song about Kris Kringle and his Christmas tree. And that’s largely because it was kept alive in Santa-specific songs and stories. Ho ho ho’s connection to Santa Claus continued to grow stronger even as its lexical nuances began to fade. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! Ho!” Santa says, “Howdy, Children! Didn’t Look for Me so Soon, Did You!” Canned Laughter Ten years later, The Clyde Mail of Kansas printed an ad written from the perspective of Santa Claus, who had just “delivered” toys and other goods to a local store in early December.

(It isn’t Santa that Miltiades captures, but his own grandfather.) Ho! ho! ho! We’ll soon know if a body may see him,” he says. “Then I’ll hurry downstairs in an instant and free him. In 1877, for instance, newspapers printed a story by John Brownjohn in which a young believer by the name of Miltiades Peterkin Paul sticks a steel trap down his stocking in the hopes that it will ensnare Santa’s hand. In fact, the mythos of Santa Claus involves quite a bit of trickery on all sides-from parents trying to keep their kids from finding out the truth to kids trying to catch the bearded anti-burglar in the act.Īn illustration by Thomas Nast, published in a January 1876 issue of 'Harper's Weekly.' / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington // No Known Restrictions on PublicationĮarly mentions of ho ho ho in conjunction with Father Christmas-though not all spoken by him-reflect that theme. While Papa Noël doesn’t taunt or deride, there is something pretty puckish about the way he steals undetected into and out of people’s houses at night, and getting away with that kind of benevolent mischief certainly merits a triumphant ho or three. A solitary ho, meanwhile, could connote “surprise, admiration, exultation (often ironical), triumph, taunting.” The Trick FactorĪccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, a double or triple ho was used to express “derision or derisive laughter” possibly as far back as the late 12th century, and it was definitely in play by the 16th century. But the history of ho ho ho as laughter-and how it became Santa’s catchphrase-is a little more complicated than that. Nick spouts a trichotomous ho, he’s laughing with mirth. It’s generally agreed that when Jolly Old St. His trademark ho ho ho raises questions, too, such as: What? The strange habits of Santa Claus are ripe for interrogation, from his use of the chimney as a thoroughfare to his use of coal as a disciplinary measure.

The life and adventures of santa claus 1902