Mrs. Claus: What Do We Know About Santa’s Better Half?
By | December 20, 2022
Stories of Santa Claus, in his various forms and names, have circulated around the world for centuries, but for most of these years Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick was a bachelor. At least the numerous legends and stories never mentioned his marital status, his dating history, or his significant others. That changed in 1849 when Santa’s little missus first graced the pages of holiday literature. Let’s take a look at how Mrs. Claus was first introduced and what storytellers have told us about Santa’s better half in the years since.
Mrs. Claus and “A Christmas Legend”
The very first literary reference to Santa’s wife appeared in 1849 in a short story called "A Christmas Legend”. The story was written by James Reese, who was a Christian missionary based in Philadelphia. He wrote the short story with a holiday flare to illustrate a biblical lesson about extending hospitality and the central figures are not Santa and his bride. In fact, the Clauses don’t make an appearance at all. As the story goes, an older man and woman, each carrying heavy packs, seek shelter for the night at a home. The family welcomes the strangers in and makes them feel welcome. The next morning, the children wake up to find an abundance of gifts for them. The mysterious older couple are revealed to be the long-lost oldest daughter of the family and her husband who wore disguises because they were not sure if the family would welcome them. How does this introduce Mrs. Claus? There is one line of the story that explains that the disguised daughter and son-in-law are not “old Santa Claus and his wife.” That’s it. But this was enough to plant a seed. Other writers expanded on the idea that Santa was a married man.
Mrs. Claus, Yale, and Hessian High Boots
A student at Yale University, whose name was merely written as ‘A.B.’, published a short story in the Yale Literary Magazine in 1851 which gives a description of Santa Claus. It also contained a brief, yet important reference to Mrs. Claus. It said, “In bounded that jolly, fat and funny old elf, Santa Claus. His array was indescribably fantastic. He seemed to have done his best, and we should think, had Mrs. Santa Claus to help him.”
In 1854, a holiday musicale performed at the State Lunatic Asylum in Utica, New York, included a scene in which Mrs. Santa Claus danced a holiday jig … with a baby in her arms.
Sadly, no description of this Mrs. Claus was given, but author Robert St. Clar provided us with an early one in 1864. In his humorous novel, The Metropolites, St. Clar writes that Mrs. Claus made an appearance in a woman’s dream. She was described as wearing “Hessian high boots, a dozen of red petticoats, and an old, large straw bonnet.”
Was Mrs. Claus Santa’s Secretary?
In the 1878 children’s book, Lill in Santa Claus Land and Other Stories, which was published in Boston and written by Ellis Towne, Sophia May, and Ella Farman, there is a scene in which Santa is using a spy glass to peer out the window of his office to check the behavior of children. He reports back his findings to a “lady sitting by a golden desk, writing in a large book.” This story does not tell us, however, if this woman is Santa’s wife or an employee.
Mrs. Claus in Detail
The first detailed description of Santa’s wife appeared in an article in an 1887 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. This article, titled "A Hickory Back-Log” by Eugene C. Gardner, like the Robert St. Clar, has Mrs. Claus appearing in someone’s dream. However, in Gardner’s story, a detailed description of Santa’s wife is given … one that encompassed two paragraphs. She wore her hair pinned up with a white lace cap on top. She had on a bright, plaid cloak that hung to the floor and fastened at her neck with brass hook and eye. The cloak had a wide yoke over her shoulders.
Mrs. Claus Takes Center Stage
Katharine Lee Bates’s 1889 poem, “Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride,” gives us the first appearance of Mrs. Claus as a central figure in a story. We learn that “Goody” is short for “Goodwife” and that she is not content to sit at home when Santa makes his yearly toy delivery. Goody Claus is a bit feisty and demands to join her husband on his sleigh ride. She offers to hold the reindeer for him and notes, “Why should you have all the glory of the joyous Christmas story, and poor little Goody Santa Claus have nothing but the work?”
Mrs. Claus’s Backstory
The most complete backstory of Mrs. Claus comes from the 1970 television special, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” based on the 1934 song of the same name. In this story, we see a young, ginger Kris Kringle who falls in love with a pretty, young schoolteacher named Jessica and helps him sneak toys into Sombertown, a place where toys have been outlawed. They eventually marry and she continues to help him with his toy distribution goals.
Mrs. Claus Today
Today, Mrs. Claus is depicted as a kindly, elderly lady who dresses in a red velvet dress with white fur trim. She helps Santa manage his elven workforce, pack his sleigh, maintain his naughty and nice list, and keeps him well-stocked in cookies. She is often at his side when he makes public appearances, such as in parades, community events, TV shows, and at shopping malls. A sweet and pleasant grandmother figure, Mrs. Claus models the dutiful and loving wife.