"Look, I am not going to tell you that St. Nick was a scheme by the fuzzy suit industry to sell more fuzzy suits, as green bean casserole was a direct attempt by the soup industry to sell more soup.

"But I think that the legend lent itself to being compatible with branding, which meant that Santa was bound to be merged with commercialism and cultural messaging that underlined broader cultural trends, particularly those that reinforced societal norms. In many ways, the two threads started separately, then game together in 19th century New York City, a handful of figures helped to shape these norms around Christmas and Santa Claus, and teed them up for generations to come." - Ernie Smith

Article: How Santa Morphs

Related Article: At What Point Does the Santa Myth Become a Harmful Deception?