The Santa Claus emoji is the internet’s jolly bringer of gifts, vibes, and chaotic December energy. It signals everything from wholesome holiday cheer to “someone’s about to drop presents (or discounts).” People toss it in texts for Secret Santa reveals, wish-list flexes, and that classic “naughty or nice?” tease—with equal parts irony and flirt. It also moonlights as a playful sugar-daddy wink (“ok Santa, I see the budget”), and a meme-y nod to surveillance jokes: “he sees you when you’re sleeping” = corporate data tracking, but festive.
On Apple/iOS, Santa shows as a close-up, front-facing face with a fluffy white beard and mustache, rosy cheeks, and a warm smile under a bright red cap trimmed in white with a pom-pom—instantly recognizable in your notifications like a sleigh bell ring. The expression reads gentle and twinkly, making it perfect for cozy DMs, gift-drop teasers, or posting when Mariah Carey is officially defrosted. You’ll spot it with reindeer puns, chimney jokes, and “Santa baby” captions, plus Christmas-in-July chaos when the timeline starts craving peppermint mochas way too early. Cultural lore wise, think Saint Nick/Father Christmas, and yes, those classic Coca‑Cola holiday ads helped lock in the red suit look we can’t unsee.
Definition
Father Christmas, also known as Santa Clause, is a jolly old man who lives at the North Pole and delivers presents to children during the night between Christmas Eve (December 24th) and Christmas Day (December 25th). A magical man with a jolly laugh, a red button nose, and a passion for cookies and milk. Santa rides around the world delivering gifts and love to those that believe in the spirit of Christmas. Known for traveling on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeers. A magical and wondrous emoji. The spokesman for the Christmas holiday and, to some degree, Coca-Cola (Coke).
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was part of the proprietary / non-standardized emoji set first introduced by Japanese carriers like Softbank. These emojis became part of the Apple iPhone starting in iOS 2.2 as an unlockable feature on handsets sold in English speaking countries.
In iOS 5 / OSX 10.7, the underlying code that the Apple OS generates for this emoji was changed.
Emoji General Information
Twitter Emoji Popularity (Rank)
1266 of 2393
Apple/iOS Picture
Google Android Picture
Google Hangouts Picture
Twitter.com Picture
LG Emoji Picture
Samsung Emoji Picture
Phantom Open Emoji Picture
Not created yet
ASCII Conversion
"Short Code" Name
:santa:
Keywords
Santa, Saint Nick, Jolly, Ho Ho Ho, North Pole, Presents, Gifts, Naughty, Nice, Sleigh, Father, Christmas, Holiday
Previous Names:
Father Christmas Santa Claus
Unicode Category Information
Unicode Category
Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs
Unicode Range
1F300–1F5FF
Unicode Subcategory
Celebration Symbols
Editorial Comment
This man appears at the winter holiday time to spread holiday cheer with a red suit and white beard. Santa Claus. old name: Christmas Guy
Proposed Unicode Information & Notes
Unicode Category
Artifacts
Unicode Subcategory
Celebration Symbols
Names & Annotations
FATHER CHRISTMAS Old name: SANTA CLAUS = Santa Claus
