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December 18, 2006
Stations, it's the holiday season and, of course, time for Santa. But Santa hasn't always been around. The personification of the jolly old elf began as lines from Clement Moore's poem, "Twas the night before Christmas…" But it took a Civil War to get these written images of Santa transformed into illustrations.
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Cut 1:
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Virginia Tech Alumni Distinguished Professor of History James Robertson says the first drawn Santa came from the pen of cartoonist Thomas Nast…not a likely source, really.
IN: He had become…
RUNS: 25
OUT: … didn't like a lot of things.
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Cut 2:
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But he, like many others who did not serve in the army, wanted to 'do his part' for the northern cause in the Civil War.
IN: In the autumn…
RUNS: 18
OUT: … elevate the spirits of these men.
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Cut 3:
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Robertson says Nast came across Clement Moore's poem and let his imagination run wild…
IN: And so he drew…
RUNS: 28
OUT: … caught on instantly.
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Cut 4:
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While Nast continued to draw Santa well into the 1880's, that first Santa set the standard.
IN: and the first…
RUNS: 30
OUT: … pictures are just beautiful.
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Cut 5:
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Robertson remains enamored of Nast's Santa drawings…to the point where he thinks Santa's place in American society needs to be reconsidered.
IN: Even though…
RUNS: 13
OUT: … he is America.
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Cut 6:
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Finally, Robertson was asked whether he thinks Santa has come to represent the crass commercialism that marks much of the holiday season.
IN: Not at all…
RUNS: 14
OUT: … the beauty of it.
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