Our foggy COVID-19 brains can’t remember if Santa Claus visited us last year or not. Many of us feel as if he didn’t. But this year is different. We’ve already seen the jolly old fellow at several community gatherings around the county following the recent Thanksgiving holiday. He was waving to crowds from a lighted tractor float at the Geyserville Lighted Tractor Parade last week. This past Sunday he arrived at the Forestville Community Holiday Tree Lighting on a fire truck and the jolly old elf promises to be in downtown Sebastopol this Thursday (Dec. 2) for another tree lighting ceremony. He has a full calendar of appearances and you can follow him on our website at soconews.org.
For one, we are glad to see Santa keeping so busy. That means, even in the midst of a pandemic, some things can remain normal. If we can’t hold on to our traditions and seasonal celebrations then all we have left is climate change, raw politics and an unmoored future for our children.
Lucky for us, we were able this week to catch up to Santa and snatch a quick interview. His thoughts weren’t all sugarplums and fairies, but they gave us lots of light and hope. We’ll share some of his comments here.
“Let me tell you, this pandemic is probably toughest on me and my crew than anyone else. I’m not complaining. I’ve had lots of tough Christmas years but it seems the more progress and technology advances we make, the more my job gets tougher and tougher. Anybody want to talk about supply chain troubles?”
We’ve never seen Santa Claus frown but he did take several long pauses of silence as if in deep thought. He reminded us that his career has been well chronicled by newspapers, dating to a historic depiction of him by editorial cartoonist Thomas Nash in 1881. He said he’s always been very appreciative of the New York Sun’s 1897 editorial titled, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” He complained mildly about the role of newspapers with Coca Cola in commercializing his image but admitted things have gotten much worse since. He said he really doesn’t like the advent of Black Friday because it mostly lacks any original Christmas spirit or traditions. “It’s all about the Benjamins,” he said.
“You might think it would be odd for me to complain about materialism because that’s what I do. I make toys and gifts in my workshop and stuff the stockings of the world’s children with things they wish for but don’t always need.” For a guy modeled after a saint (Saint Nicholas) he can be extra tough on himself. “Look, I’m not always the real Santa you might see in a parade or at the mall. I have lots of helpers. These days, my problem is keeping all my team in line. My bottom line is ‘spirit.’ I want children to feel grateful and be taught about the value of giving and not just the getting part.” He said he doesn’t like social media and doesn’t even have a cell phone. “My elves aren’t allowed on Facebook and any accounts there with my name on it are all fake.”
We then risked asking Santa about his future. We know this pandemic will fade away eventually but how will our future Christmases be changed? How can we hold on to the magic of Santa in a world that keeps growing more virtual, cynical and controlled by algorithms and artificial intelligence? Santa gave another one of his long pauses. “Amazon,” he said. “Do we want a world that believes in elves or Amazon? Make your choice.”
