IN A SKETCH rejected early on, Art
Spiegelman used a jolly Santa to make a
point about remembering those in need.
When the first version of his image (right)
was turned down, Spiegelman tried to
assuage the editors’ qualms by turning
Santa around (above), leaving room for
ambiguity about who had splashed the
Christmas tree on the wall. Then, told
that the reference to the homeless was
what was offensive, Art switched to Santa
honoring a bar (top). It still was a no-go, so
we used it as our Christmas card that year.

44

THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS

SANTA SEEMS to have been invented for artists who
want to depict disillusionment and lost innocence. Norman
Rockwell used telltale pieces of the hidden costume in his
classic 1956 Saturday Evening Post cover (left), while in
1946, a department store Santa stars in the great William
Cotton’s depiction of young boys glimpsing adult reality
while their mother’s back is turned (right). More recently,
Walmart proposed the all-inclusive greeting “Happy
Holidays” to replace “Merry Christmas” in its marketing,
prompting Bill Donohue of the Catholic League and Rush
Limbaugh to unleash a media campaign against “the War
on Christmas.” Bob Zoell, in turn, was inspired to crucify
Christmas trees (opposite).