Being Santa Claus : What I Learned About the True Meaning of Christmas (9781101600528) by Jonathan Sal; Lane Lizard, Jonathan Lane
Authors: Jonathan Sal; Lane Lizard, Jonathan Lane
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try. I took my usual lunch break in the hidden storeroom they kept private for me, but I came out a little earlier than I was expected. I casually wandered over to greet a few of the children in line, hoping no one from the photo company would stop me.
“Are you having a good time at the mall today?” I asked one of the little girls. “That hot dog looks delicious!” I said to another boy.
Before I knew it, I had stopped to have short conversations with scores of different families. A few asked to take their picture with me while they waited, but I gently let them know that I was only supposed to take pictures on the set. Most people accepted that and didn’t press the issue.
To my relief, the photo staff seemed perfectly okay with my having these conversations. I suppose, as long as I didn’t enter the set itself and didn’t leave the mall, they had no problem with a social Santa.
I thought about how frustrated parents and children must feel to be standing in line for forty-five minutes or longer to see Santa, only to be told that Santa would be back in another hour. And of course, parents and their children had to wait around or else they would lose their place in line. So as the days went on, I made it my common practice to eat my lunches and dinners as quickly as I could and then come out to chat with people—both children and adults—always in character as Santa Claus.
But when I looked over at all those people standing farther back in line who could only watch as Santa chatted with other children and parents in line in front of them, I felt guilty. No matter how brief I made my conversations with people, I couldn’t get to everyone before my break ended. I imagined how disappointed the children would feel if they were the ones standing too far away from Santa Claus.
Hmmm…
If Santa can’t make any circumstance merry, then I don’t know who can. So I raised my voice a little to get the attention of the few dozen people in my immediate area: “Hey, who here knows the song ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’?” Of course, everybody did. “Would you all like to sing that song with Santa?”
A cacophony of excited children yelling “Yeah!” enveloped me. So I started singing, and I found myself immediately joined by a chorus of children and theirparents. As the song went on, the singing got louder and louder. Before I knew it, I could hear many more voices singing than just those few dozen who had started. I looked around and noticed the song spreading up and down the entire line.
By the time the song ended, we must have had hundreds of voices joining in. I didn’t want to lose the momentum and enthusiasm of the crowd, so I immediately began singing “Frosty the Snowman,” and nearly everyone in line waiting for Santa started singing along again. I could feel the mood of the whole crowd lifting as the songs jollied their stress away.
With an entire line of hundreds of people all singing at the same time, I didn’t think the experience could grow any more amazing. But it did. As the line of people in front of me sang “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” I suddenly heard singing coming from above me, as well. I looked up and saw a few customers starting to come out of the shops and join in, and then even more customers. It seemed, for just a moment, that the entire mall had transformed into one giant Christmas choir.
We sang a few more songs, and then the time came for Santa to get back to work. Everyone applauded each other before returning to the stores and continuing with their shopping. They all seemed to have a little extra spring in their step, buoyed by this collective magical Christmas moment.
So from that day on, I would make certain to eat mylunch quickly and come out to chat and sing with the crowd. Twice a day, every day, the entire mall would erupt in joyous voices singing, and waiting in line for a photo with Santa didn’t seem quite as tedious. As for me, I loved every second
“Are you having a good time at the mall today?” I asked one of the little girls. “That hot dog looks delicious!” I said to another boy.
Before I knew it, I had stopped to have short conversations with scores of different families. A few asked to take their picture with me while they waited, but I gently let them know that I was only supposed to take pictures on the set. Most people accepted that and didn’t press the issue.
To my relief, the photo staff seemed perfectly okay with my having these conversations. I suppose, as long as I didn’t enter the set itself and didn’t leave the mall, they had no problem with a social Santa.
I thought about how frustrated parents and children must feel to be standing in line for forty-five minutes or longer to see Santa, only to be told that Santa would be back in another hour. And of course, parents and their children had to wait around or else they would lose their place in line. So as the days went on, I made it my common practice to eat my lunches and dinners as quickly as I could and then come out to chat with people—both children and adults—always in character as Santa Claus.
But when I looked over at all those people standing farther back in line who could only watch as Santa chatted with other children and parents in line in front of them, I felt guilty. No matter how brief I made my conversations with people, I couldn’t get to everyone before my break ended. I imagined how disappointed the children would feel if they were the ones standing too far away from Santa Claus.
Hmmm…
If Santa can’t make any circumstance merry, then I don’t know who can. So I raised my voice a little to get the attention of the few dozen people in my immediate area: “Hey, who here knows the song ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’?” Of course, everybody did. “Would you all like to sing that song with Santa?”
A cacophony of excited children yelling “Yeah!” enveloped me. So I started singing, and I found myself immediately joined by a chorus of children and theirparents. As the song went on, the singing got louder and louder. Before I knew it, I could hear many more voices singing than just those few dozen who had started. I looked around and noticed the song spreading up and down the entire line.
By the time the song ended, we must have had hundreds of voices joining in. I didn’t want to lose the momentum and enthusiasm of the crowd, so I immediately began singing “Frosty the Snowman,” and nearly everyone in line waiting for Santa started singing along again. I could feel the mood of the whole crowd lifting as the songs jollied their stress away.
With an entire line of hundreds of people all singing at the same time, I didn’t think the experience could grow any more amazing. But it did. As the line of people in front of me sang “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” I suddenly heard singing coming from above me, as well. I looked up and saw a few customers starting to come out of the shops and join in, and then even more customers. It seemed, for just a moment, that the entire mall had transformed into one giant Christmas choir.
We sang a few more songs, and then the time came for Santa to get back to work. Everyone applauded each other before returning to the stores and continuing with their shopping. They all seemed to have a little extra spring in their step, buoyed by this collective magical Christmas moment.
So from that day on, I would make certain to eat mylunch quickly and come out to chat and sing with the crowd. Twice a day, every day, the entire mall would erupt in joyous voices singing, and waiting in line for a photo with Santa didn’t seem quite as tedious. As for me, I loved every second
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