Thursday, April 25, 2013

Will Miss #514 - skinny Santas


Santa didn't used to be fat. This is something that I learned with a little research. It seems that the image of Santa which has become quite popular comes to us courtesy of Coca-Cola. They thought that a jolly, chubby Santa was more fun than a severe, skinny one. I don't know if the rotund Santa is popular worldwide, but I do know that that is the only way that I ever saw him growing up in the U.S. and that is the way in which he's generally portrayed in popular culture.

In Japan, Santa is depicted at times as amazingly slim and trim. That's because they are working with the mannequins they have and they don't care about padding him out to fit some Americanized image. Besides, the Santa costumes at hand were sewn with a Japanese physique in mind. If you're going to dress up a figure, you don't want to have to custom order an outfit for the portly gentleman.

Among the many things that said, "Japan" to me, were the skinny Santas that popped up in various displays. I miss seeing the slender Santa as one of many little reminders that Christmas is something rather different in Japan.
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4 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 25, 2013 at 9:23 AM

    Well, while Coca Cola contributed to the current Santa's omnipresence, they didn't invent him as such: http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/santa/cocacola.asp

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Orchid64April 26, 2013 at 8:26 AM

      Harrumph. The internet has *lied* to me! Who should I sue? ;-)

      Delete
    2. UnknownApril 26, 2013 at 8:59 AM

      Don't worry; it's a common misconception... [raises nose, looks down upon the peasantry]

      Do you still get to sue if the Internet also corrected its own lie? Or better yet, can you sue twice? This is 'murica after all!

      Delete
    3. Orchid64April 26, 2013 at 12:53 PM

      I deserve that looking down upon (eyes are downcast).

      And I'm guessing I can sue as often as I want, as long as I feed the lawyer.

      Delete

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