7 Swans A-Swimming!

It wasn't until the 19th century that Christmas achieved the popularity it enjoys today. The way it is celebrated and the fanfare which with Americans greet it is due to efforts by such people as Washington Irving, Charles Dickens (author of A Christmas Carol), Thomas Nast, and Clement C. Moore (author of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" ).

Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York (1809) contained many references to a congenial St. Nicholas character that resembled an elf-like Dutchman with a clay pipe. He borrowed from the New Amsterdam (New York) St. Nicholas legends that said St. Nicholas went down chimneys to give out gifts.

Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (or "The Night Before Christmas" or "'Twas the Night Before Christmas") was first published anonymously in 1823. The Santa Claus figure we have known since the mid-nineteenth century to today is drawn largely from this poem (his physical appearance, mode of transportation, number and names of his reindeer, and the night of his visit). American ideas about St. Nick varied significantly around the country before this poem; the classic narrative also influenced ideas about him outside of the U.S.

Political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santas from 1863 to 1886 in Harper's Weekly, based on descriptions in Irving's and Moore's works (a fat, bearded Santa with fur clothing and a clay pipe). The name of the character also changed from St. Nicholas to Santa Claus (see how similar Santa Claus is to the German Sankt Niklaus and Dutch Sinterklaas).

In the U.S., the holiday first became popular in New York, and residents proclaimed St. Nicholas as the patron saint of the city. In the 1870's, it was declared a national holiday.

It has been suggested that in the song "Twelve Days of Christmas," the "7 swans a-swimming" represent the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit (prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and compassion).

Also see Christmas in America, by Penne Restad, Oxford University Press, 1995.