National and international media outlets broke the story of turmoil within the community of professional Santa Clauses nearly a month ago. The story is one of power-hungry individuals fighting for control of a major Santa-industry trade organization.
That feud has continued in online Internet communities during a time of year when Santa Claus is usually enjoying a wave of publicity generated by annual gatherings of industry, uh, heavy weights.
The Santa War, as many wryly now refer to it, has splintered into three factions: those who wrestled away control within the trade organization, those who oppose new industry leadership and those who just want nothing to do with any of it.
“It is a sad time to be Santa,” said “Santa Ray”, of Columbus, Ohio. Ray Jennings is a retired mail carrier who has worked the past 12 holiday seasons in the red suit. “I am not a big time Santa. I work for church groups and get a few paid appearances each year aside from some mall work that I do. There is no real money in it and I would never do it for money any way. I do it because I love being Santa and making people happy. But these guys who do this for a living are wrecking it for me. They want to be big. They want to be noticed. And they want to be paid big money. All of that has created this terrible fight and it is making all of us look bad. I just want to be Santa, I don’t need these big egos representing me.”
In recent weeks individuals opposing the new leadership of the trade organization have passed around a petition called the “Declaration of Santa Unity”, a vicious document outlining grievances, accusing new leadership of corruption, and calling for action against organizers.
In an effort to gather support for the declaration some have engaged in bullying tactics in public gathering places online. Neutral Santas and Santa venues online have come under attack for not actively taking a side.
The result is a further fractured community of professional Santas.
It comes at a time where the image of Santa Claus is increasingly garnering bad press. Internationally, Santa Claus has faced accusations of being a poor nutritional role model to kids and malls in the U.K. and Australia have looked to sign “skinny” Santas. Criminal background checks, searches of sex offender registries and the like are now a part of hiring professional Santas due to high profile abuse cases nationwide. A man dubbed “The Best Santa Ever” was arrested after months of international detective work in a child porn case.
“If ever there was a time when Santa needs a PR firm, it’s now.” said Jeff Westover, president of Merry Network, a family of associated Christmas websites, including DefendSanta.com (and the parent organization of this news channel).
“We have been highlighting this for years. Santa Claus was never a commodity of Christmas but he has been used as such by advertisers, merchandisers and promoters for well over a century. This fight within the community of professional Santa Clauses is just another sad chapter in what has happened to a man who many used to consider a saint.”
Santa “Ted” (not his real name), a 20-year veteran in the professional Santa industry from Washington state, doesn’t want to let other Santas know who he is any more. “I can’t go online and talk to those guys anymore. Who they are is just not who I am. I put on the suit, I grow my beard and I bring smiles to kids, parents and families. I don’t need them to tell me how to do that. I don’t need to know how to do that for money because I don’t do it for money. No man ever should. But that is who they are and who they want to be. They sell books, reindeer food, elf licenses, Santa belt buckles and other such trash. They mock what is sacred and special about Christmas when they do that and I refuse to be a part of it.”
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