Santa Claus grew out of Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for St Nicholas, a fourth-century saint associated with secret gift-giving. Dutch settlers brought the tradition to New York, where in 1810 an image of St Nicholas dropping gifts into stockings was printed. Washington Irving and Clement Moore then gave him a jolly character, flying reindeer and a sleigh in the 1820s and 1822. Cartoonist Thomas Nast drew much of his modern look in the 1860s and 1880s, adding the North Pole home and the workshop. Early illustrations showed Santa in green, blue and yellow, and the red suit became standard only around the turn of the twentieth century. Coca-Cola's later advertising, from the 1930s, popularised the image further.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.