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    LIFE Santa Claus
    LIFE Santa Claus
    LIFE Santa Claus
    Ebook150 pages1 hour

    LIFE Santa Claus

    By Life

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    About this ebook

    He is one of the most iconic figures in human lore, the "right jolly old elf" who embodies the benevolent spirit of Christmas. In fact, Santa Claus (or, St. Nicholas, or Kris Kringle, or Sinterklaas, or Father Christmas, if you will) has had a rich, colorful history, dating back almost two millennia to what is now present-day Turkey. Now, with this special edition and just in time for the excitement of the holidays, you can trace Santa's journey, through all its twists, turns and iterations around the world, as he has enchanted and delighted children of all ages. There is magic in the myth that endures and evolves, generation after generation. Celebrate Santa, a beacon of light and hope in an often dark and uncertain world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLife
    Release dateNov 22, 2019
    ISBN9781547850211
    LIFE Santa Claus

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      Book preview

      LIFE Santa Claus - Life

      Movie

      INTRODUCTION

      The Magic of Santa Claus

      By Richard Jerome

      BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

      AN ALL-EMBRACING SPIRIT A French postcard, circa 1900, depicts Père Noël at his most fatherly. The popular image of Santa as a rosy-cheeked and rotund figure didn’t emerge until the latter half of the 19th century, popularized by, among others, the renowned caricaturist and cartoonist Thomas Nast.

      Shortly before Christmas several years ago, there erupted a cable-and-Internet-fueled firestorm, a furious debate among television pundits and talk-show hosts, print and online pontificators, and doubtless more than a few families at dinner tables across this great land. Was it triggered by domestic politics or an international crisis? Some sensational crime or environmental disaster? A shocking twist on Game of Thrones? No, this time the great American outrage machine ginned up over the nature of Santa Claus.

      The precipitating event was an essay on Slate.com by Aisha Harris, a black journalist. As a child, Harris had asked her father whether Santa was brown, like us? Or was he really a white guy? With Solomonic wisdom, her dad replied that Santa was every color. Whatever house he visited jolly old St. Nicholas magically turned into the likeness of the family that lived there. Still, the adult Harris lamented, Santa’s pervasive image remains melanin deficient, even as America grows browner and more diverse. As a result, she argued, nonwhite children grow up with just another reason to feel like alienated outsiders. And so, Harris offered a modest proposal: Rebrand the yuletide icon as an animal, like the Easter Bunny—perhaps a penguin, a creature beloved for its cuteness and, like Santa, from a snowy homeland.

      For some those were fighting words. The forces of political correctness were storming the gates of tradition and challenging white patriarchy! Directly addressing any children in her prime-time demographic, one incensed and exasperated (blonde) network anchor­ blurted out, Santa just is white. Things escalated from there, as other commentators on other networks lashed back. For one thing, the original Saint Nicholas is believed to have come from Asia Minor—present day Turkey—and would, in all likelihood, qualify as a person of color. For another thing—well, it’s Christmas. Can’t we all just get along?

      The kerfuffle underscored our intense emotional, and personal, investment in Santa Claus. Santa, of course, is for anyone and everyone who believes in him—in a literal, corporal form or simply in his spirit. He is one of the most powerfully enduring of all cultural symbols and arguably the most beloved. We call him Santa, Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas, Father Christmas and many other names. He’s taken numerous forms over the course of a rich history that dates back almost two millennia.

      Granted, Santa has always demanded of his believers a gargantuan leap of faith, a willing suspension of skepticism. He’s certainly an implausible fellow, orbiting the planet in a reindeer-powered sleigh, carrying an almost inexhaustible payload of toys and goodies, rappelling down chimneys (absent which he presumably seeks other means of ingress). And there are some highly improbable circumstances. For one thing, what must all those gifts weigh? For another, how fast must he have to travel? Estimates range greatly—perhaps 2 million miles an hour? perhaps 6 million miles an hour?—but in any case Santa flies faster than anyone else we know. By a lot. Plus: Flying reindeer?

      Of course, there are more than a few outright Santa deniers. (Just as some folks say that true love doesn’t exist.) Indeed, the question of whether to allow one’s children to believe in Santa at all has sparked—you guessed it—furious debate. A 2016 study published in the British journal The Lancet warned that promoting Santaism could be detrimental to the parent-child relationship The Santa myth is such an involved lie, such a long-lasting one, between parents and children, said coauthor Kathy McKay, a clinical psychologist at the University of New England, in New South Wales, Australia. If a relationship is vulnerable, this may be the final straw. If parents can lie so convincingly and over such a long time, what else can they lie about?

      On the other hand, many experts maintain that fantasy and imaginative play are important aspects of child development. Santa—white, black, brown or penguin—lends Christmas much of its magic and mystery. Kids will encounter the harsh inevitable disappointments of real life soon enough—far too soon, in many cases. Why not give them a few years to believe in this joyous spirit of benevolence, at least until they learn the hard truth on the schoolyard or figure it out on their own?

      I know I believed in Santa far longer than most kids—I had a hyperactive imagination and an aversion to reality. For me, it gave Christmas, which I loved beyond measure, an added glow of romance. Eventually, reason and logic finally did win out—I’m not sure at what age. But instead of dampening my spirits, it filled me with love and gratitude to realize that my parents took time and care to brave the crowds at Sears and Montgomery Ward to find me just the right toy or gizmo. My father’s sudden death, not long after my 17th Christmas, gave the holiday an even more potent force and poignance. He and Mom were Santa—the spirit that sent their little boy bounding down the staircase on the morning of December 25,

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