Patrick Courrielche
In 2015, Courrielche wrote a long form story "St. Nicholas: The Birth Of A Social Weapon" on the origin of Santa Claus and introduced the concept of a "social weapon" - a packaged idea, message, or product that is used by an individual or group to advance their cause. Courrielche argued that New York City elites crafted Santa Claus from St. Nicholas, a widely known patron saint, to stabilize a city plagued by annual misbehavior every December. Santa Claus was then used as a "social weapon" by merchants, craftsman, city rulers, parents, newspapers, and others to benefit their endeavors. The essay was added to the St. Nicholas Center's resource on the Origin of Santa Claus.
The Secret World of Santa Claus
A boy named Jesse didn’t get a present on Christmas when he was little, so he doesn’t think anybody else should. He dresses up as Santa Claus to fool the mail-carriers to bring all the letters to his mansion and robs stores so others cannot get the toys. However, the real Santa is arrested and the imposter goes home with the elves! The imposter asks the toy machine to make him pills, so he becomes a huge monster. Meanwhile, Santa escapes from prison and uses a toy plane to fly to the North Pole. But he runs out of gas. Luckily for him, a young boy trades his fish for gas. He arrives just in time to save his elves from Jesse. He lure the behemoth to the frozen lake, where he falls in, in which the side effects of his pills give him a different color. He asks Santa for help, who uses magic to return him to normal and Jesse reveals that he didn’t get a present because he never wrote to Santa. Santa then brings Jesse to the police and returns all the toys. He also gives the generous boy a new fishing rod and a pond full of fish.