So how’d you sleep?

The illustration is by Thomas Nast, an artist whose influence is still felt as surely as yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner.

Nast, of course, is the political cartoonist credited with having knocked the pins out from under Boss Tweed’s Tammany Hall machine. He’s also responsible for the popularization of Uncle Sam and the Democratic donkey, the creation of the Republican elephant, and the personification of Columbia, symbol of American values.

But this time of year his legacy is most pervasive, as foremost he is credited with having been the first to synthesize the traditional imagery employed in Clement Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in codifying the look of our modern Santa.

What better way, then, to kick off the holiday season? Enjoy those Thanksgiving leftovers!