"In 1931 Haddon Sundblom (1899-1976) painted his first image of Santa Claus for Coca-Cola. During the following three decades this illustrator's Christmas ads became a tradition. His memorable Santa images have been embraced worldwide as icons of American popular culture. His paintings of a happy, red-cheeked Santa became an icon that defined how many of us imagine Santa today. His wholesome American girls drinking Coke are some of the most collectible pin-up images. Sundblom is one of the finest of the illustrators of his period, known also for his brilliant watercolors, including story illustrations for the leading magazines of the 1940s. The sole book on his art, Dream of Santa, is currently out-of-print."

Sundblom's Santa rekindles the same warm feeling in my heart that I felt first when I saw him as a child years ago. That same feeling I get from Currier and Ives Christmas lithographs (1840 to 1890) and Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", or Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. I feel it well in church on Christmas Eve: midnight mass is very fine.

Wait a minute, is that me and my sister stocking up the 'fridge?

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