In 1841, J.W. Parkinson’s store in Philadelphia hired a man to dress up in a “Criscringle” outfit and climb the store’s chimney, but in 1862 Rowland H. Macy set new holiday standards by decking out the window’s of his New York store and introducing “Santa Claus” as a means of snaring Christmas shoppers. Anglicizing the name of the gift-giving gnome known as Sinterklaas (from the Dutch “Sint Nicolaas”) and costuming him in a red cloak was a hit and made the store Santa Claus a holiday staple. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, each mall Santa has an average of 7,829 children sit on his lap each year. That’s a lot of lap!
