Christmas century, Saint Nicholas was well known in the Netherlands, and the practice of gift-giving in his name spread to other parts of central and southern Europe. At the Reformation in 16th–17th-century Europe, many Protestants changed the gift bringer to the Christ Child or "Christkindl", corrupted in English to Kris Kringle, and the date of giving gifts changed from December 6 to Christmas Eve. The modern popular image of Santa Claus, however, was created in the United States, and in particular in New York. The transformation was accomplished with the aid of notable contributors including Washington Irving and the German-American cartoonist
Thomas Fitzpatrick (cartoonist) Thomas Fitzpatrick (cartoonist) Thomas Fitzpatrick (27 March 1860 – 16 July 1912), pen name Fitz, was an Irish political cartoonist. Fitzpatrick was born in Cork. He contributed to the satirical magazine "Pat" (published from 1881-1883), the "Weekly Freeman", the "Irish Figaro", the "Irish Emerald", the "Weekly Nation", "Punch" and the "New York Gaelic American", and was for a time chief cartoonist of the "National Press". In 1905 he launched his own satirical magazine, "The Lepracaun", which he edited and drew most of the cartoons and illustrations for until his health began to fail in 1911. James Joyce contributed short pieces