All you say is true, Q. And Santa Claus's red suit had to have been recognisible enough before Sundbloom's campaign for the campaign to have worked as well as it did.

Though the first Dutch settlers to New York were devout Protestants, and wouldn't have celebrated the saints' days, nor would they have used the figure of a saint to celebrate Christ's birthday.

The Sons of St. Nicholas was a patriotic, fraternal order for Americans of Dutch ancestry, and the figure of Saint Nicholas was more of a figurehead than a being of religious importance (Saint Andrews was a similar order for Americans of Scots origin, for example).

And Pelznichol may have been a country bumpkin, as you say. But, in this forum dedicated folk traditions, there's no shame in that. Nor is there any reason why our genteel cousins from the Town can't borrow a little rustic style to spice up their holidays...

Just look at the popularity of Martha Stewart's faux-rustic style; I doubt that's an entirely modern phenomenon, either.