National Christmas Tree Has Died

Federal officials say the National Christmas Tree planted near the White House a year ago has died and is being removed.

The National Park Service says the Colorado blue spruce died of “transplant shock.” It came from a tree farm in New Jersey last year and was planted on the Ellipse just south of the White House in March 2011.

The tree replaced one that had stood on the Ellipse since 1978 but was destroyed by high winds in February 2011.

Workers were removing the dead tree Saturday. The National Park Service says it has already identified a Colorado blue spruce to replace the tree and will plant the new National Christmas Tree in October, just in time to be decorated for the holiday

Rhode Island Santa Claus Michael Rielly to Appear in the Documentary They Wore The Red Suit

Rhode Island native and professional Santa Claus Michael Rielly, will appear in the upcoming documentary They Wore The Red Suit. The film highlights the rare individuals who have devoted their lives to keeping the magic of Santa Claus alive in the world by actually being Santa Claus.

They Wore The Red Suit examines Santa Claus from three perspectives: The legend of Santa Claus, the vocation of being Santa Claus, and the Santa Claus industry. The movie will explore the history and evolution of Santa Claus from St. Nicholas of Myra through the early 20th century with a focus on the impact of legendary Santas such as Jim Yellig and Charles Howard, and through the men who currently portray Santa Claus today.

“I have discovered angels living among us. They have no wings and they wear red suits”, commented Director, Larry Peter, “There exist a handful of men who have devoted their lives to living the legend of Santa and making him real for all of us. These aren’t just people out there putting on a red suit. There is a connection to a legacy. Something has been passed on.”

In the film Michael Rielly talks about his journey in becoming Santa Claus. He discusses the influence his late grandfather, Rhode Island’s famed Santa Claus, James D. Rielly, had on him, and the inspiration to found the Santa Claus community, ClausNet.com.

“I am deeply honored to be a part of this film”, said Michael Rielly. “For me donning the red suit is more than a tradition. I believe it is a calling.”

Filming and fundraising for They Wore The Red Suit will be continuing throughout 2011 and is schedule to premier early 2012.

About Michael Rielly
A third generation Santa Claus, Michael Rielly has worn the red suit for over 20 years and has been featured in newspapers, radio, and television. Mr. Rielly is a graduate of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School and the International University of Santa Claus. He serves on the Santa Claus Oath committee and is the founder of the Santa Claus community, ClausNet — the largest community and resource for men and women dedicated to the faithful portrayal of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. When not appearing in the red suit, Michael Rielly works in high-tech sales and marketing serving in various leadership roles.

About They Wore The Red Suit
The soon to be released documentary film, They Wore The Red Suit is about the unique men who commit their lives to becoming Santa Claus. The documentary will run the gamut of human emotions; from the whimsical coverage of Santa conventions and schools to the historical origins of Santa to the poignant and heartbreaking stories of the most difficult requests Santas receive from children. To learn more about the documentary They Wore The Red Suit, visit: http://www.thesantamovie.com.

Santa Standards Gives Parents Safe Outlets for Santa Online

SantaStandards.com has launched today in advance of the 2011 holiday season to give parents a guide for providing a safe experience for children with Santa Claus online. The site links and ranks Santa websites against established child safety standards and grades their performance. The purpose of Santa Standards.com is to advocate child safety practices on Santa venues online and to promote the education of the historical Santa with this generation’s children.

All sites are judged by five separate criteria. First is Child Safety. The Children Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, is a minimal standard for Santa websites. Those standards ensure parental consent in acquiring and using child information such as email. SantaStandards.com does not believe any Santa website needs to require, use or maintain ANY child’s personal information when seek Santa online. Wishlists, questions for Santa or other features can easily be designed in such a way that email information need not be disclosed. The highest rated sites at SantaStandards.com comply with that requirement.

Internet crimes against children is the fastest growing method of child exploitation and victimization today. SantaStandards.com’s mission is to ensure that NO Santa venue is used in this fashion.

Some Santa sites have issues with advertising images that are not family friendly. These are generally ads of a contextual variety that use information culled from the site content or information already stored in a computer browser to serve up ads that are seen. Many Santa websites using these ad revenue programs do not filter them for family friendly viewing so that a child could see an ad for a dating site or even a risque image for sexual enhancement products. SantaStandards.com condemns any site unable to keep family friendly control over their site pages.

A post privacy policy on any website is now a common practice in the Internet industry and many Santa websites do not have them. Information is the currency of the Internet and even passively collected information can be profitable for a website that gathers it. Every site needs to disclose all methods of information gathering and what that information is used for. That is the purpose of a privacy policy. Every Santa site should have one.

Some Santa-related venues are charging for access to Santa Claus. This is also against standards set forth by SantaStandards.com. Every child should have free and unfettered access to Santa Claus.

And finally, the historical character of St. Nicholas and even the charming basis of the modern Santa has taken a beating in Hollywood productions, music, and on the Internet and an effort must be made to restore the honor, dignity and respect of Santa Claus. SantaStandards.com works to ensure that continual education and restoration of the character of Santa Claus as a role model is promoted through the sites reviewed and catalogued at SantaStandards.com.