圣诞老人是经美国化的Sinterklaas，但他同样也被称为Saint Nick、Father Christmas还有从德国来的Kris Kringle。在旧世界(欧亚非大陆)这些是不同的角色，但在新世界(美洲大陆)，他们随着时间合而为一，你可以在较古老的故事中目睹。
For example, the poem “The Night Before Christmas” came out in 1823 in New York, which established that Santa lands on the roof and fills stocking with toys. But this Santa is an elf, much like those from the Nordic Countries. He’s small and drives a miniature sleigh with tiny reindeer, which makes a lot more sense for someone whose job description includes fitting down chimneys. Also, the word “Santa” appears nowhere in the poem. The original title is “A visit from Saint Nick”.
举例来说，「圣诞节前夕」这首诗是在1823年的纽约诞生的，它表明了圣诞老人会降落在屋顶上，并将袜子塞满玩具。但这个圣诞老人是个精灵，很像那些从北欧国家来的。它身材短小，驾着小型雪橇和迷你驯鹿，这对于一个工作内容包括钻进烟囱的人来说合理多了。同样的，「Santa」这个字在诗里任何地方都没有出现。原本的题目是「Saint Nick的探访」。
As the 1800s continued, a fat, human looking immortal Santa evolved into the standard among American authors. It was in the States that he gained both his elvish workforce and a wife.
随着十九世纪过去，一个胖胖的、人类模样、长生不老的圣诞老人发展成了美国作家间的标准。他就是在美国得到了他的精灵工人以及妻子。
By about 1900, Santa had developed into his current iconic style. It should be noted that, contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola didn’t change his colors to their corporate scheme, but instead used the conveniently red-and-white Santa in 1931 to help sell more soda during their off season. Though Coke didn’t create him, their omnipresent ads probably did brand this as the One True Santa in the minds of millions, helping spread him around the world to many cultures with no traditions of winter gift-givers.
在大约公元1900年时，圣诞老人发展成了现今的经典形象。值得一提的是，与普遍的认知相反，可口可乐并没有将圣诞老人的颜色改成他们的公司企划，而是便利地在1931年时使用红白色的圣诞老人，帮助在淡季时卖出更多可乐。虽然可口可乐并没有创造出他，但他们无所不在的广告可能将这作为「唯一真正的圣诞老人」，铭刻在数百万人的心中，帮助圣诞老人普及于世界上许多没有冬季送礼传统的文化。