Christmas is for White People

Once we made it to high school and became too cool for a picture with Santa Claus every year, my mom went on a nagging spree.  And it worked.  So what started as an appeasement so that we wouldn’t “have to hear it this year… again,” has now become the tradition of my sister, her dog, and me getting our picture taken with Santa every year.  My mom gets it as a Christmas present, and is somehow always surprised and elated that we took another one.

This year, with the advent of Groupon, Crowd Cut, Living Social and the like, I was able to score a 50% of deal on a 5×7 and 2 3x5s.  Pretty sweet right?

And as I stood in line, clutching my iphone (containing the info for the aforementioned deal), I noticed, right under a picture of a very cheesy Santa, a little button that said, DISCUSSION.  Naturally, I tapped the button.  There were clearly more than a few first timers to Groupon trying to figure out if the company is going to send a coupon to their house, asking how Santa will be dressed, if they need to print one coupon per child, when/if they can bring their dog… All being answered by someone whose username is Santa’s Helper.  And then one of the question jumped up and hit me square in the right eye socket:

“Will there be any sites with African American santas?”

I, like many people I suppose, take for granted that Santa is known in the zeitgeist as a white guy.  But this was a great question, clearly from someone whose kid has spent some time trying to figure out Santa’s ethnic background, or who simply wants to expose their child to a little diversity in the Santa department.  Here’s how Santa’s Helper responded:

“Our character depiction of Santa goes all the way back to the 1930′s when Thomas Nast wrote the book, ‘Twas the night before Christmas.”  Then soon after, Coca-Cola, created the Coca-Cola Santa in an ad campaign that most Americans adopted as the Santa most recognized in this country.  This is the characterization that you will find in many of our centers but we all know that the spirit of Santa can dwell in the hearts of all people, no matter the race, creed or color.  He represents a universal giver with a true, “Heart for the Part!”  Great Question!  Thank you.” [sic]

That’d be a “No.”  But despite Santa’s Helper’s piss poor use of grammar and punctuation, s/he is basically saying that they believe Santa is a White guy, and furthermore, White is what is considered neutral or “universal” in our society; representative of all Americans.  Because if “we all know that the spirit of Santa can dwell in the hearts of all people, no matter the race, creed or color,” then why hasn’t this company hired a Black Santa, or an Asian Santa, or a Latino Santa (which also begs the question, are there Black, Asian, and Latino guys who are clamoring to play Santa?)?  If other cultures aren’t lacking in the spirit of Santa, why isn’t the answer to the question an emphatic “yes”?

I’ve never seen a Santa at any of the malls who appeared to represent an ethnicity other than White.  Imagine if there were a Black Santa at one of the local malls.  I’d like to see a White suburban parent explain to their kid why the Santa they stood in line for the last hour to see isn’t what “most Americans adopted as the Santa most recognized in this country.”  Because that conversation is taking place in the homes of many non-White families all over the country.

Part of me imagines an angry horde of White, suburban, soccer moms in their “I’m trying to be cool” jeans from A&F, clutching their Coach purses, furiously sipping their lattes, and (with a sense of supreme entitlement mixed with boredom) holding bedazzled signs in protest of a non-White Santa.

Or maybe it’s the rest of us who should be a little pissed.