Santa Claus was an American Christmas icon before Coca Cola, dating back at least to Clement C. Moore's poem -- sometime before 1900, although I can't be more precise thatn that. I believe that the political cartoonist Thomas Nast (known for his cariacatures of New York's Boss Tweed) created some of the earliest Santa illustrations, pretty much defining the visual characteristics that all otehrs would have to follow.

In Nast's era, of course, newspaper cartoons were strictly black and white, so the color of Santa's coat *might* have been undefined. I wonder where the jolly old elf fiorst appeared in color -- some Currier and Ives print, maybe?

Note to Brits: Although most US customs and culture can be traced back to your shores, our Santa Claus comes from the Dutch settlers of New York City (Nieu Amsterdam), not from the English of New England, Viginia and points south.