Mrs Claus Mrs. Claus is believed to be the wife of Santa and, according to story and legends, lives in their house in the North Pole. She looks after Santa and the elves during the year and also helps out in Santa's workshop.
Picture of Mrs Claus The following picture depicts the character in a postcard dated 1919. This is one of the earliest pictures of Mrs. Claus and portrays and image of a caring old, elderly couple. The red suit with white fur trimmings, the rotund figure, the rosy cheeks, the white grey hair and the spectacles are all specific to the image of this, now famous, character.
The Character of Mrs Claus The character of Mrs. Claus is depicted as a kindly, elderly and jolly woman conveying the image of a kindly grandmother. The above picture reinforces her character. Her concern for Santa, pulling his scarf around his neck before he goes on his long journey delivering toys on Christmas Eve.
Mrs Claus The character was popularized by poet Katherine Lee Bates in her poem entitled "Goody Santa Claus" which was published in 1889. In the poem the marriage of Santa is mentioned as taking place in Fairyland when Santa was 'young and slender'. In the poem Mrs. Claus gets her own way and accompanies Santa on his sleigh to deliver the toys to the children. The poem refers to Santa as 'Goodman' and to his wife as 'Goody'. Goody is an old term meaning a good wife and mistress of the house which dates to back to the early Middle Ages and was used by Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales. The term Goodman meant a good husband.
The History of Mrs Claus The history, story and legend of Mrs. Claus is the creation of American authors. In fact, the character of Mrs. Claus is rarely referred to in the UK. The work and authors which popularised Mrs. Claus are as follows:
1849 short story "A Christmas Legend" by James Rees
1851 in the Yale Literary Magazine in 1851,
1854 in a Christmas Musicale
1862 essay in Harper's Magazine
1878 in the children's book Lill in Santa Claus Land and Other Stories by Ellis Towne, Sophie May and Ella Farman
1889 poem 'Goody Santa Claus' by Katherine Lee Bates
Mrs Claus
Mrs Claus
Picture of Santa's wife
The Character
The History
Santa
1889 poem 'Goody Santa Claus' by Katherine Lee Bates
Santa and his wife
Mrs Claus
"Merry Christmas, have a happy and prosperous New Year!"
