<P> By 1845' Kris Kringle' was a common variant of Santa in parts of the U.S. A magazine article from 1853, describing American Christmas customs to British readers, refers to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for' a fabulous personage' whose name varies: in Pennsylvania he is usually called' Krishkinkle' but in New York he is' St. Nicholas' or' Santa Claus' . The author quotes Moore's poem in its entirety, saying that its descriptions apply to Krishkinkle too . </P> <P> As the years passed, Santa Claus evolved in popular culture into a large, heavyset person . One of the first artists to define Santa Claus's modern image was Thomas Nast, an American cartoonist of the 19th century . In 1863, a picture of Santa illustrated by Nast appeared in Harper's Weekly . </P> <P> Thomas Nast immortalized Santa Claus with an illustration for the 3 January 1863 issue of Harper's Weekly . Santa was dressed in an American flag, and had a puppet with the name "Jeff" written on it, reflecting its Civil War context . The story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole may also have been a Nast creation . His Christmas image in the Harper's issue dated 29 December 1866 was a collage of engravings titled Santa Claus and His Works, which included the caption "Santa Claussville, N.P." A color collection of Nast's pictures, published in 1869, had a poem also titled "Santa Claus and His Works" by George P. Webster, who wrote that Santa Claus's home was "near the North Pole, in the ice and snow". The tale had become well known by the 1870s . A boy from Colorado writing to the children's magazine The Nursery in late 1874 said, "If we did not live so very far from the North Pole, I should ask Santa Claus to bring me a donkey ." </P> <P> The idea of a wife for Santa Claus may have been the creation of American authors, beginning in the mid-19th century . In 1889, the poet Katharine Lee Bates popularized Mrs. Claus in the poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride". </P>

Who created the american image of santa claus