Harper’s magazine on December 26, 1857 published a poem entitled “The Wonders of Santa Claus” which was influential in shaping the 19th century’s view of Santa.
Here he is a rotund old man, clad in red with white fur trim and long black boots; here are the busy elves in a workshop setting; and, for the first time, an Arctic setting, a castle of ice where he and his helpers can labour undisturbed. He is neither bishop, nor proletarian; betokening his elevated status of polar castellan and employer, his pipe is a long one. Among the wonders of his establishment is its ability to disappear into the frosty mist when a stranger happens by; though it is reported that one clever boy drew close enough to see this moral admonition on the gate: “Nobody can ever enter here/ Who lies a-bed too late.” The poet then advises: “Let all who expect a good stocking full,/ Not spend much time in play;/ Keep book and work all the while in mind/ And be up by the peep of day.”
The Arctic hideaway was later revealed to be under Iceland’s Mount Hecla, a volcano which provided Santa with central heating and hot running water – cold water came from a stream of “melted-snow water, contrived with a patented congelator, which thawed when you wanted cold water and froze when you didn’t.”