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| name = Mrs. Claus
| image = Mr&MrsSantaClaus.jpg
| caption = Mrs. Claus
| occupation =
| known_for = Making cookies with the [[Christmas elf|elves]],
▲| known_for = Making cookies with the [[Christmas elf|elves]], Carrie's for the [[Santa's reindeer|reindeer]], and preparing toys with her babe
▲| spouse(s) = [[Homer Simpson]]
}}
'''Mrs. Claus''' (also known as '''Mrs. Santa Claus''' or '''Mrs. Santa''') is the
==
===
The wife of Santa Claus is first mentioned in the short story "A Christmas Legend" (1849), by [[James Rees]], a [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]-based Christian [[missionary]].<ref>James Rees, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=RTwfAAAAMAAJ Mysteries of City Life]'', J. W. Moore, 1849, p. 1.</ref> In the story, an old man and woman, both carrying
Mrs. Santa Claus is mentioned by name in the pages of the ''[[Yale Literary Magazine]]'' in 1851, where the student author (whose name is given only as "A. B.") writes of the appearance of Santa Claus at a Christmas party:
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A passing reference to Mrs. Santa Claus was made in an essay in ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' in 1862;<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=UhMwAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22mrs.+santa%22+date:1862-1862&pg=PA411 Editor's Easy Chair]", ''Harper's'', vol. 24, no. 141, February 1862, p. 411.</ref> and in the comic novel ''The Metropolites'' (1864) by Robert St. Clar, she appears in a woman's dream, wearing "[[Hessian (boot)|Hessian high boots]], a dozen of short, red [[petticoat]]s, an old, large, straw bonnet" and bringing the woman a wide selection of finery to wear.<ref>Robert St. Clar, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tQ5f3Tp39E8C&dq=%22mrs.+santa%22+date:1600-1878&pg=PA379 The Metropolites]'', New York: American News Company, 1864, p. 37</ref>
[[File:Lill's Travels.png|thumb|
A woman who may or may not be Mrs. Santa Claus appeared in the children's book ''Lill in Santa Claus Land and Other Stories'' by [[Ellis Towne]], [[Rebecca Sophia Clarke|Sophie May]] and [[Ella Farman]], published in [[Boston]] in 1878. In the story, little Lill describes her imaginary visit to Santa's office (not in the [[Arctic]], incidentally):
: "There was a lady sitting by a golden desk, writing in a large book, and Santa Claus was looking through a great telescope, and every once in a while he stopped and put his ear to a large [[speaking tube|speaking-tube]].
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Mrs. Claus proceeds to instruct the architect Gardner on the ideal modern kitchen, a plan of which he includes in the article.<ref>E. C. Gardner, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=IlU7AAAAMAAJ&dq=%22mrs.+santa%22+date:1879-1889&pg=RA1-PA125 A Hickory Back-Log]", ''Good Housekeeping'', vol. 4, no. 6, January 22, 1887, p. 125.</ref>
[[File:Goody Santa Claus.jpg|thumb|
Santa Claus' wife made her most active appearance yet by [[Katharine Lee Bates]] in her poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride" (1889).<ref>Penne L. Restad, ''Christmas in America: A History'', Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 148. {{ISBN|978-0-19-510980-1}}. Although Restad gives the publication year as 1899, most sources say the poem was published in 1889.</ref> "Goody" is short for "[[Goodwife]]", i.e., "Mrs."<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=goodwife&x=0&y=0 "Goodwife"] and [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=goody&x=37&y=10 "Goody"], ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', 4th ed.</ref>
===
In 2018, there was an increasing demand for holiday appearances of Mrs. Claus as a standalone character separate from Santa Claus.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ellis |first1=Rebecca |title=This Year, Mrs. Claus Is Coming To Town – And Not As Santa's Sidekick |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/22/678128144/this-year-mrs-claus-is-coming-to-town-and-not-as-santas-sidekick |access-date=25 December 2020 |work=NPR |date=22 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
In 2023, [[Sheryl Lee Ralph]] became the first celebrity and the first black woman to play Mrs. Claus in the [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]]'s history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parade.com/news/sheryl-lee-ralph-first-black-mrs-claus-macys-thanksgiving-parade-fans-react|title=Fans Can't Get Enough of Sheryl Lee Ralph as Thanksgiving Parade's First Black Mrs. Claus|first=Alyssa|last=Ray|date=November 23, 2023|website=Parade}}</ref>
== In popular media ==▼
{{Original research section|date=December 2020}}
Since 1889, Mrs. Claus has been traditionally depicted in media as a fairly heavy-set, kindly, white-haired elderly female baking cookies or mending clothes somewhere in the background of the Santa Claus mythos. She sometimes assists in toy production and oversees Santa's [[Christmas elf|elves]]. She is sometimes depicted in her youth to have had [[red hair]]. She is usually depicted wearing a fur dress of red or green.
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Mrs. Claus departs even further from the stereotype in more recent films, such as the 2020 [[Mel Gibson]] film ''[[Fatman (2020 film)|Fatman]]'', where she is a black woman played by [[Marianne Jean-Baptiste]].
===
Mrs. Claus has appeared as a secondary character in children's books about Santa Claus and as the main character in titles about herself.
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* ''A Bit of Applause for Mrs. Claus'' by Jeannie Schick-Jacobowitz, 2003
* ''The Story of Mrs. Santa Claus'' by Bethanie Tucker and Crystal McLaughlin, 2007
* ''Mrs. Claus Takes
* ''What Does Mrs. Claus Do?'' by Kate Wharton and Christian Slade, 2008
* ''Annalina: The Untold Story of Mrs. Claus'' by Adam Greenwood, 2011, tells the tale of the young woman who will one day become Mrs Claus. It has been adapted into a storybook for young children with coloring pictures and serves as the pilot for a series of novellas about various different characters from the story.
* ''Mrs. Claus Says'' by Nancy Claus, 2005–present, an ongoing series of children's books about life in the North pole, narrated by Mrs. Claus.
===
*
* The 1970 [[stop-action animation]] ''[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (
* The 1974 stop-action sequel ''[[The Year Without a Santa Claus]]'' starred [[Shirley Booth]] voicing the classic Mrs. Claus. This was [[The Year Without a Santa Claus (2006 film)|remade in 2006]] as a live-action film with [[Delta Burke]] playing Mrs. Claus.
* In the 1984 [[TriStar Pictures]] film, ''[[The Night They Saved Christmas]]'', Mrs. Claus, as played by [[June Lockhart]] to [[Art Carney]]'s Santa, looked after the children when they visited the North Pole.
* Mrs. Claus (played by [[Judy Cornwell]]) is also a character in 1985's ''[[Santa Claus: The Movie]]'', where she played a vital role in the film's story. Her first name is Anya. It was her idea to give presents only to good children.
* In the 1993 film ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'', Mrs. Claus has a cameo appearance. She is seen in the kitchen of her and Santa Claus's home, preparing a [[lunch box]] and a [[vacuum flask]] for her husband to take to work.
* The 2002 film ''[[The Santa Clause 2]]'' centers on [[Tim Allen]]'s character being forced to marry in order to continue his role as Santa. The "Mrs. Clause" confirms why every Santa has had a Mrs. Claus, because it is part of the Santa Clause. He ultimately finds genuine love in Carol Newman ([[Elizabeth Mitchell]]), the principal of his son Charlie's school, and in ''[[The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause]]'', she deals with being Mrs. Claus, having a baby, and being separated from her family.
* Played by [[Miranda Richardson]] in the 2007's ''[[Fred Claus]]'' (2007) starring [[Vince Vaughn]] and [[Paul Giamatti]]. Her name is Annette.
* In ''[[Arthur Christmas]]'', Mrs. Claus' first name is Margaret and is the wife of Malcolm (the current Santa) and mother of both the title character Arthur and his older brother Steve. She is depicted as much more efficient than her husband. She is voiced by [[Imelda Staunton]].
* Mrs. Claus (played by [[Goldie Hawn]]) makes an appearance in the 2018 Netflix movie ''[[The Christmas Chronicles]]'' (at the ending) and its sequel, ''[[The Christmas Chronicles 2]]'' as one of the supporting characters. She is portrayed in the sequel as a [[white witch]], practicing folk magic.
* Mrs. Claus is played by [[Marianne Jean-Baptiste]] in the 2020 [[Mel Gibson]] film ''[[Fatman (2020 film)|Fatman]]'' and her first name is given as Ruth.
* Mrs. Claus, played by Monika Krzywkowska, is one of the main characters in the 2021 Netflix film ''[[David and the Elves]]''
===
Mrs. Claus appears in several of the [[Rankin/Bass]] stop-motion holiday specials. In ''[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]'' (1964), she is seen as pestering her husband to eat, lest he becomes a "skinny Santa". In ''[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (
[[Bea Arthur]] portrayed Mrs. Claus in a series of commercials for the Canadian drugstore chain [[Shoppers Drug Mart]], part of Arthur's seven-year run as spokeswoman for the company between 1984 and 1991.
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[[Angela Lansbury]] starred as the protagonist of the 1996 television musical ''[[Mrs. Santa Claus]]'', with music and lyrics by [[Jerry Herman]]. Stranded in 1910 [[New York City]], under the guise of Mrs. North, she marches for [[Women's suffrage in the United States|women's suffrage]], and strikes to reform [[Child labor in the United States|child labor]] in toy manufacturing. Anna Claus then joins Santa on an improved [[Circumnavigation|route around the world]].
In ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'', [[Charlie Brown]]'s sister [[Sally Brown|Sally]] writes to Santa and asks, "How is your wife?" Later, in ''[[It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown]]'', she writes Santa's wife herself, and
Mrs. Claus appears in ''[[A Chipmunk Christmas]]'', where she buys Alvin a harmonica after he gives his old one to a sick boy. Her identity isn't revealed until the end when Santa returns home and she greets him.
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She appears as a character in ''[[Duncanville (TV series)|Duncanville]]'' where the eponymous character Duncan Harris has a crush on her and refers to her by her first name "Mary". This makes Santa (who she calls "Kris") jealous and come after Duncan with a shotgun.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Plumbdog Millionaire |series=Duncanville}}</ref>
===
For 2016, British clothing and food company [[Marks & Spencer]] launched an integrated marketing campaign centered on a modern interpretation of Mrs. Claus. The campaign included a three-minute ad released on 11 November 2016 which sees Mrs. Claus receiving a letter from a seven-year-old child asking for help with a gift for his older sister, with whom the boy has a difficult relationship.
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The ad was directed by Academy Award winner [[Tom Hooper]] with Mrs Claus played by British actress [[Janet McTeer]]. Music was composed by [[Rachel Portman]]. The ad was created for Marks & Spencer by advertising agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe, a London-based division of [[Young & Rubicam|Young & Rubican]].
===
[[Nat King Cole]] released "Mrs. Santa Claus", with accompaniment by [[Nelson Riddle]]'s orchestra, as the flipside of his 1953 single "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deYSj5iTau4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/deYSj5iTau4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Nat King Cole – Mrs. Santa Claus |last=01musicfan |date=21 December 2010 |access-date=22 May 2017 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
In contrast to her stereotypical portrayal, Mrs. Claus is portrayed as a woman bored with her relationship with Santa Claus in the song "Surabaya-Santa" from [[Jason Robert Brown]]'s musical ''[[Songs for a New World]]'' and in the Oszkars' off-color song "Mrs. Claus has a Headache Again".
Comedy duo [[Cheech and Chong]] released "[[Santa Claus and His Old Lady]]" in 1971, with Cheech trying to explain (in his own way) the origin of Santa and Mrs. Claus to his always-stoned friend, Chong.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSH9ryRzHQ4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/XSH9ryRzHQ4| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Cheech & Chong – Santa Claus and his Old Lady|website=[[YouTube]]
[[George Jones]] and [[Tammy Wynette]] released the 1987 single "Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus", a love song with Jones and Wynette portraying the two characters.
[[Bob Rivers]] recorded "Me and Mrs. Claus", a parody of the soul song "[[Me and Mrs. Jones]]", for his 2002 album ''[[White Trash Christmas]]''.
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[[Robert Lopez]] and [[Kristen Anderson-Lopez]] wrote the song "A Hand for Mrs. Claus" as a duet for [[Idina Menzel]] and [[Ariana Grande]] for the 2019 album ''[[Christmas: A Season of Love]]''.
===
* In ''[[Saints Row IV]]''{{'}}s ''How the Saints Saved Christmas'' DLC, Mrs. Claus appears along with her husband. Her first name is revealed to be Janine. While she is mostly Santa's sweet, caring, and devoted wife, she is also a tough, capable fighter ("decking the halls" as Santa puts it), and unlike her husband quick to reveal the truth behind the nature of the "North Pole", the changes into standards of what is considered Naughty, what happened the one time Santa let someone else drive the sleigh with his reindeer, among other things. Her personality and attitude earn Mrs. Claus some respect from the Saints Boss.
* In ''[[The Simpsons Tapped Out]]'', during the 2017 Christmas event, "The Invasion Before Christmas", [[Kang and Kodos|Kodos]] disguises herself as Mrs. Claus. In an effort to take over Christmas after being left out of Halloween, the Rigellian duo, [[Kang and Kodos]], steal the identity of Santa and his wife. As the final prize of act one of the event, the skin, "Mrs. Kodos Claus", is unlocked by collecting 17,700 Rigellian Batteries. The costume portrays Mrs. Claus in a red, short-sleeved outfit with glasses, slightly uneven lipstick, and a white mop hat. Upon unlocking the skin, the questline, "Claus-Et Homemaker", activates, in which Mrs. Kodos Claus attempts to impersonate Mrs. Claus by doing housewife-esque things, such as baking cookies and cleaning the house. Not being skilled in any of these areas, she inevitably fails and gives up, turning to day drinking. By the end of the questline, she hires a maid, Shauna, to clean the house. Having fully satirized a lazier modern housewife, Mrs. Kodos Claus eventually murders Shauna and uses her skull as a Holiday decoration.
* In ''[[Temple Run 2]]'', as a portrayed gameplay character, which has been made in the celebration of [[Christmas]].
==
* [[Santa Claus' daughter]]
* [[Santa Claus's reindeer]]
==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
== External links ==▼
{{Commons category}}▼
{{Wikisource|Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride}}▼
* ''[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20112/20112-h/20112-h.htm Lill's Travels in Santa Claus Land]'', 1878, at Project Gutenberg
* ''[http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Poetry/Goody_Santa_Claus/goody_santa_claus.htm Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh-Ride]'', 1889, by Katherine Lee Bates, original edition and text.
▲{{Commons category}}
▲{{Wikisource|Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110430004539/http://www.bsu.edu/web/01bkswartz/xmaspub.html The Origin of American Christmas Myth and Customs]
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