I had a good laugh at the photos above! Friends of mine sent a couple to me because they had seen me in the photo below. That Santa used to give all us kids the creeps and he held on to us with a hands like an iron vice. It must have been something going around in the 50s and 60s!
I can remember some mean-looking Santas in the 1960s. There is a photo of me sitting on the lap of a grumpy St Nick, screaming my head off. I don’t remember ever visiting the Easter bunny–I don’t think we did that back then. By the looks of some of the bunny costumes of the era, it probably would have been another scream fest.
This would surely have letting me faint as a child; bunnies with an “alien” look on their faces or a St Nicolaus who kept hold of your hand etc. Luckily we did not have that in the fifties yet. But nevertheless in those times we still had a kind of gloomy Santa (St. Nikolaus) due to the legends combined with religious belief. Much later the influence of American commercials, especially the creation of the Coca Cola Santa Claus, the St. Nikolaus became “friendly”.
Luckily the Easter Bunny did not have to go through this massive change; it’s always been a friendly and nice figure even though looking at the traditional illustrations it changed from a more serious grown up animal walking upright, wearing human clothes to a cute childlike bunny with an always laughing and smiling happy face……………luckily!!!
Wishing you a Happy Easter!