Santa and the Moon Reviews

Peter Barthel Keywords Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Books, Moon Phases, University of , The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected]

Summary

This article reflects on the use of illustrations of the Moon in images of , on -wrapping paper and in children’s books, in two countries which have been important in shaping the image of Santa Claus and his predecessor Sinterklaas: the USA and the Netherlands. The appearance of the Moon in Halloween illustrations is also considered. The lack of either knowledge concerning the physical origin of the Moon’s phases, or interest in understanding them, is found to be widespread in the Netherlands, but is also clearly present in the USA, and is quite possibly global. Certainly incom- plete, but surely representative, lists that compile occurrences of both scientifically correct and scientifically incorrect gift- wrapping paper and children’s books are also presented.

Introduction midnight in movie scenes. Illustrations To quantify the level of ignorance con- which show Moon crescents are also occa- cerning the phase of the evening Moon re- Images of the Moon are often used to in- sionally wrong: third quarter Moons or wan- lated to the Sinterklaas, Santa Claus and dicate an evening or night scene, not only ing crescents are depicted when the actual the Christmas season, a (jolly) research as illustrations in books (for adults and scene is in the evening. A 2010 UNICEF project was conducted, examining illus- children), but also on product packag- as well as the opening trations in children’s books, on gift-wrap- ing, brochures, greetings cards, gift-wrap- scene in the 2010 Jacquie Lawson ani- ping paper, and on Christmas cards, both ping paper, in advertising, commercials, as mated e-Calendar — both widely in the USA and in the Netherlands. These pictograms, etc. A full Moon is often used, sold items — provided the culmination are the two countries that have shaped the partly hidden behind trees or clouds, but of several years of frowning (and smiling) image of Santa Claus and his name-giver ­ a partially lit Moon — half or crescent — about this misconception or ignorance, Sinterklaas (Saint , Sint ­Nicolaas), also frequently appears. The latter case and triggered the research presented be- the benevolent figures who have been of leaves no doubt as to an image’s identi- low. The UNICEF card, of British design1, key importance in commercialising the fication with the Moon; a full Moon could shows children decorating an outdoor December holiday season. The goal of possibly be mistaken for the Sun. There are . Judging from the Moon publishing this research is obviously to fo- two ways of depicting a partially lit Moon: phase, the scene takes place at 4 am or cus educators’ attention on a great oppor- around its first and its last quarters. A cres- 5 am in the morning, which is not impos- tunity to explain the (origin of the) Moon’s cent Moon, on its way towards first quar- sible but unlikely. The village scene that phases, as offered by these happy end-of- ter is called a waxing Moon, and such a opened the 2010 Jacquie Lawson2 digi- year events. The need for such education waxing Moon can be observed in the af- tal depicts a Christmas has been, for instance, well demonstrated ternoon twilight and in the evening. Its right carol concert, sung in the village square. by the video A Private Universe3. hand side is illuminated, for observers in Whereas the thin waning Moon indicates an the northern hemisphere (left for observers early morning event, the artist undoubtedly in the south). The first quarter Moon sets wants to show us an early evening scene, Theoretical background at midnight, a waxing Moon even earlier. judging from the people on the square and A waning crescent Moon (from third quar- the lights in the houses, shops and the The Sinterklaas and Santa Claus stories ter to new Moon: left hand side illuminated) church. It is just about possible that both are well known and date back to the fourth rises around 3 am, hence can only be ob- artists intended to create Australian scenes century bishop Nicholas of (now served late at night and in the morning twi- with reversed Moon phases, but the pres- Demre, in southern Turkey). Legends of light. The full Moon is directly opposite the ence of snow in both scenes is strongly his generosity and kindness spread over Sun in the sky, and hence rises at sunset. suggestive of the northern hemisphere in Europe and he became the patron saint of December.... The same misunderstanding many groups, cities, and even countries. Moon illustrations are occasionally incor- is frequently seen on gift-wrapping paper The 5 December, the eve of his death, was rect. There are postcards showing artist’s in the Netherlands, displaying Sinterklaas, commemorated with an annual feast in impressions of tropical evenings with both the predecessor of Santa Claus, distrib- many European countries. Following the the Sun and the full Moon close to each uting presents in the evening with a third Protestant in the sixteenth other. Full Moons sometimes rise around quarter or waning Moon in the sky. century, some countries merged the

CAPjournal, No. 12, May 2012 13 Santa and the Moon

20% 25% FIRST FIRST

FULL FULL 40% LAST LAST

65% 10%

40%

Figure 1. Book statistics from the Netherlands. Figure 2. Wrapping paper statistics from the Netherlands.

St. Nicholas celebration with Christmas, In summary, illustrations should preferen- but others stuck to 5 December. The char- tially show first quarter or full Moons on acteristic features of benevolence and the ­Sinterklaas or Santa Claus scenes, unless exchange of gifts obviously hark back to it is clear from the text that Santa’s job is legends around St. Nicholas. Local folk- nearly done (i.e. he has a nearly empty lore was added, which resulted in different ­ sleigh...) Any winter evening scene in gen- flavours for the celebrations in various eral, and certainly those having children countries. Dutch settlers in the New World around, should have a first quarter or full Figure 3. Scientifically correct Sinterklaas gift- celebrated St. Nicholas’ Eve in the 17th Moon, if the artist wants to show one. wrapping paper. Credit: Keyzer Co., Wormerveer, century, and those celebrations evolved The Netherlands: type 090011 (reproduced with permission). through contacts with immigrants of other nationalities. Concerning the transforma- Measurements and results tion to Santa Claus, the importance of the The US research was carried out during author Washington Irving in 1809 and of December events November 2010–January 2011, in New the 1823 poem A visit from , All data were obtained in the months England and in Los Angeles: also here commonly known as The night before November 2010–January 2011, and can roughly two dozen book stores, stationery Christmas4, is well documented, as are be found compiled in Tables I through stores, pharmacies and department stores the drawings of Thomas Nast in the 1860s IV, which are available online5. In the were visited. In addition, samples of com- and the Coca Cola advertisements in the Netherlands, two dozen book stores and mercially available wrapping paper and 1930s (e.g., Jones, 1978; Crichton, 1987; department stores were visited, during Christmas cards were inspected on the and www.stnicholascenter.org). November–December 2010. Book illustra- internet. Thirty-three Moon scene images tions depicting Sinterklaas and the Moon selected from 30 different books (Table III) The Dutch Sinterklaas together, with his were examined, with regard to the Moon provide the pie chart statistic as shown in helpers, is believed to distribute his pre- phase. Twenty-five images selected from Figure 4. It is clear that most of the time sents on the evening of 5 December. He 25 books (Table I) provide the pie chart sta- (70%) a full Moon is drawn, but it should may also pay visits during the evenings tistic as shown in Figure 1. It is seen that be noted that 17 of the 30 inspected books and nights before 5 December, leaving 40% of the pictures display the last quar- were renditions by various illustrators of the some candy in shoes set before the fire- ter Moon, which is incorrect. poem A visit from Saint Nicholas. Inspection place, but the main event is the evening of illustrated editions of this poem7 from of the 5th. Once delivered, the presents The Netherlands wrapping paper analysis the 19th and early 20th century indicates are unwrapped during that same even- (20 different designs, from various firms, that the full Moon is indeed shown very ing. Scenes depicting the 5 December department stores and book stores) indi- frequently, throughout the lifetime of this ­Sinterklaas events should depict waxing, cates an even higher level of misunder- poem. Whereas the text does not explic- first quarter or full Moon (or no Moon) to standing. The chart in Figure 2 indicates a itly mention the full Moon, that Moon phase be scientifically correct. 65% occurrence of the incorrect last quar- may have become implicitly “attached” to ter or waning Moon. There is no reason to its lines over the years: the full Moon more- On Santa Claus works believe that this statistic is not represent- over provides a nice background for sleigh through the night of 24–25 December to ative, because examination of a collec- and reindeer.... Nevertheless, in several get his job done: the gifts are unwrapped tor’s sample of older Sinterklaas gift wrap6 American books an incorrect waning or on Christmas morning. If a Moon is shown yields the comparable figure of 67% (six third quarter Moon is seen accompanying in a Santa scene that takes place at the out of nine Moon designs incorrect). stories involving children in evening scenes, beginning of the night, its phase should or illustrating Santa with a full sleigh, i.e., at be waxing, quarter or full, otherwise it can It must be concluded that the Dutch are the beginning of a night’s work. The book- have any phase. The poem, A visit from often wrong, both on wrapping paper and let, The Night before Christmas in California Saint Nicholas, has the father witnessing in book illustrations; and more often so in (Smith & Egan, 1992) displays two different Santa’s arrival before going to bed, and the former case. Figure 3 nevertheless pre- Moons (full and waning) during one and the thus in the evening. The Moon “on the sents an example of nice wrapping paper same evening.... breast of the new fallen snow” must have with a correct waxing evening Moon. been a waxing, first quarter, or full Moon to With only a few exceptions, wrapping paper be scientifically correct. and Christmas cards sold in the USA (book

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15% 15% FIRST night to their city or region, display incor- References rect waning moons. FULL Brown, M. W. & Hurd, C. 1947, and later editions, LAST Discussion Goodnight Moon, London: Harper Collins We have established that illustrators and Crichton, R. 1987, Who is Santa Claus? — the 70% designers draw Moons ad libitum, ac- true story behind a living legend, Edinburgh: cording to their taste, but that these il- Canongate Figure 4. USA book statistics. lustrations are often astronomically in- Jones, C. W. 1978, Saint Nicholas of Myra, correct. The most common mistake is Bari, and Manhattan: Biography of a Legend, stores, general and department stores, to show the early morning waning Moon Chicago: University of Chicago Press stationery stores and pharmacies: single in an evening scene. Our research fo- Smith, C. & Egan, S. 1992, On the night before cards and boxed sets) were found to dis- cussed on Sinterklaas, Santa Claus, and Christmas, all down 101..., Salt Lake City: play full Moons, with or without Santa. The Christmas scenes, with a short side trip to Gibbs Smith Publ. UNICEF card referred to in the Introduction Sint Maarten and Halloween. The apparent Ungerer, T. 1967, and later editions, Moon represents one of the incorrect cases. Also lack of knowledge concerning the physics Man, London: Harper Collins a 2010 Holiday Delices set (), sold of the Moon phases is most likely wide- by a famous (Fifth Avenue) department spread and not just limited to the countries store, was found displaying a last quarter examined here. Further investigations are Notes Moon at the beginning of a night of hard however outside the scope of the present work by Santa and his crew. It must be con- research. We note in passing that also the 1 http://www.unicefshop.nl/p656-kerstfeest.html cluded that the Americans are occasionally psyche could play a role: people may for 2 www.jacquielawson.com wrong, but not as frequently as the Dutch. instance be more inclined to draw Moon 3 http://www.learner.org/resources/series28.html crescents which are open to the right, i.e. 4 The widely known poem, with credit to Clement Other events northern hemisphere waning Moons. Clarke Moore, can be found for instance on Other relevant happy outdoor evening http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19286 events include Trick-or-treat (Halloween, Naturally, the question arises: so what, who (retrieved 7 January 2012). The site http://rpo. the eve of Old Hallows) and Sint Maarten cares? The errors are innocent, somewhat library.utoronto.ca/poem/1312.html (retrieved 7 (Saint Martin), widely celebrated each comparable to incorrectly drawn rainbows, January 2012) attributes it to Henry Livingston, year respectively in the USA, the UK, and with the red colour at the inside of the arc. Jr., following research published in 2000 by Canada (31 October) and the Netherlands, Now, watching beautiful natural phenomena Donald Foster. A critical assessment of the Belgium, France, and Germany (11 like rainbows and Moon crescents is one authorship case can be read on http://www. November). Often carrying lanterns and thing, but understanding them makes them common-place.org/vol-01/no-02/moore/ (retrieved 7 January 2012 costumed, children go from home to a whole lot more interesting. Moreover, un- 5 home, begging for candy or money. Short derstanding leads to knowledge which lasts. http://www.astro.rug.nl/~pdb/santa.html songs about Sint Maarten are performed, A tiny bit of insight, leading to the conclusion (retrieved 7 January 2012) whereas trick-or-treat is obviously accom- that the full Moon, being opposite the Sun, 6 http://www.Sinterklaaspapier.nl panied by an innocent threat to the home rises when the Sun sets and sets when the 7 http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/ owner’s property. Given that these are Sun rises, so that first quarter Moon, be- henry/illos/editions/index.htm early evening activities, then any Moon ing at ~90 degrees, sets around midnight, 8 Useful Moon phase education webpages are depicted should be waxing, first quarter, and that last quarter Moon, at ~270 de- maintained by NASA and by NOAO: http:// or full. With reference to Table IV, inspec- grees, rises around that time, is required to www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index. tion of eleven American trick-or-treat books avoid making the reported mistakes. The cfm?page=123(retrieved 7 January 2012) indicated five cases (45%) of an incorrect Halloween, Sint Maarten, Sinterklaas, and and http://www.noao.edu/education/ phases(retrieved 7 January 2012). Excellent last quarter Moon, one first quarter, and Santa Claus settings provide wonderful 8 moon phase activities can be found on five full Moons. Three Dutch books dealing opportunities for Moon phase education , http://www.dennisschatz.org/activities.html with Sint Maarten all showed the incorrect through simple naked eye observations. If last quarter Moon. Two of these, however, this paper stimulates that education and were translations from German and Swiss leads to improved understanding, we would editions: it is conceivable that the misun- all be pleased. “You better watch out” is of- derstanding or lack of knowledge is global. ten heard in the December month: it should Biography also be taken literally.... Finally, the well known classic children’s Peter Barthel is astronomy professor at the book Goodnight Moon (Brown & Hurd, Kapteyn Institute, University of Groningen in the 1947) displays a correct full (evening) Acknowledgements Netherlands. In 2008, together with his team, Moon, while the various Moon phases are he won the national Dutch science communi- also correctly dealt with in the classic Moon The author acknowledges useful com- cation contest. Since the International Year of Astronomy 2009 he has been ­collaborating Man (Ungerer, 1967). On a last note, how- ments on the manuscript by Drs Andrew with the professional pianists Elies van der Hei- ever, several titles in the Good Night Our Fraknoi, Bob Sanders, Scott Trager, Piet den and Siebert Nix in the project Keys to the World boardbook series (www.goodnigh- van der Kruit, Gijs Verdoes Kleijn, and par- Stars, merging astronomy and music. tourworld.com), where children say good- ticularly three unknown referees.

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