In a child’s eye, Santa is larger than life
Dating back before the Middle Ages, in the A. D. 300’s, Saint Nicholas was the youngest and one of the kindest Bishops in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, gradually becoming the Patron Saint of schoolboys. He worked wonders in converting unbelievers to Christianity, but for his steadfast faith he was actually kept in prison for a time.
The beloved legend of Santa Claus is connected with Saint Nicholas, who, known for his generosity, on three nights in a row tossed bags of gold into the window of three girls who did not have the money for a dowry and so could not get married, therefore the custom of giving gifts at Christmas began.
The date of his death, December 6, in the same month as Christmas, was made into a feast day in remembrance and schoolboys dressed in lavish robes paraded the streets. With Dutch settlers coming to America bringing the custom of gift-giving with them, young Americans unable to pronounce Saint Nicholas correctly ended up saying “Santy” or “Santa Claus.”
In 1822, Clement C. Moore wrote the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and described him as we know Santa Claus today: a jolly figure, twinkling eyes, a red snub nose and a white beard.
With Christmas just passed, the need for Santas in children’s eyes was made evident when visiting malls and stores seeing children lined up for their visit with Santa. No way Santa could be in all of these places at the same time so he had to call for help — Santa’s Helpers!
For centuries we’ve relied on Santa to create the magic of Christmas for our children, but it doesn’t come without the right skills. A Santa must be committed to being the best he can be so even the most compassionate and jolly person wanting to be Santa might have to go to “Santa School” to brush up on the technique because, after all, being a Santa is a very big responsibility.
These schools aren’t just for Santa’s, though. They also accept students to be Mrs. Claus and Elves, who are each important with Santa’s busy holiday season.
One such school is the Northern Lights Santa Academy based out of the metro-Atlanta area, and is the largest Santa School in the Southeastern United States. It serves Santa Clauses, Mrs. Clauses and Santa’s Helpers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and throughout other parts of the country.
The next two full days of lectures and workshops at this school are Wednesday, April 22, and Thursday, April 23. For single Santas, Mrs. Claus or Elf, the fee is $235, but a couple can attend for $435. If anyone in our area is interested in getting involved in what is becoming an industry, so to speak, Santa Rick from the school can deliver information by calling (404) 936-2888.
The largest school, “School4Santas,” celebrating its 17th year with 4,200 graduates, is offering and coordinating a special School4Santa aboard a Princess Cruises ship Aug. 8-22, cruising the Mediterranean. Now that’s a “cool-school” for some serious Santas who want to learn while having a “floating-good time.” When calling (800) 901-1172 ext. 41758 for booking a would-be Santa will learn that the school comes free with the cruise and can be tax deductible.
There are quite a few real-bearded Santas in South Carolina. We have Santa Bill in Mauldin, Santa Tom in Rock Hill, Santa Barney in Goose Creek, Santa Julius in Ridgeland and, last but not least, we have Santa Kenny right here in Pritchardville.
It was a pleasure to see Santa Kenny Cleland at work for four hours, with children eager to sit on his lap and whisper their secret wishes on the first weekend in December when he visited a shop in Greenville. I even had my chance to make my wish while sitting on his knee and give a little tug on his white beard to check it out. Fun and refreshments were had by all while Santa and his helper Elf, wife Teri Cleland, assisted with the children.
Professional Santas earn on average $30 per hour. Between October and December most mall Santas work about 40 10-hour days and listen to 30,000 children.
Hmm, figuring this Santa makes $30 per hour, he’ll bring in an extra $12,000 income to add to his retirement, averaging 4 cents per child who whispers in his ear. Wonder how much he gets paid for his jolly laugh of “Ho, Ho, Ho”?
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 2:37 PM.