I wore the Red Suit (20 page)

“Santa you look very thin. Are you feeling all right? Are you Sick?”

Now I have this little pot, but nothing like I am sure the real Santa has. I am also a little taller than most Santa’s. “No, I am not sick and I feel very good. Actually,” I tell the kid. “Mrs. Claus has put me on a diet. It seems that the reindeer had a hard time getting airborne with the sleigh and me. They complained to Mrs. Claus and she put me on a diet.”

Earlier on before my hair had turned completely white, some kids would ask why my beard is not all white and has some dark spots (gray hair). I tell them that it is just soot from coming down so many chimneys. That was all they needed to hear. Sometimes, it does not take much to come up with a reason to answer a question. It has to be made believable.

Two little girls sat on each knee and one asked me if I saw the movie that just came out about Santa Claus? I said yes I did. I thought it was a great movie, and it was funny. They were talking about one of the elves, Bernard. They asked me who the oldest elf at the North Pole? I told them there was an elf named Ben. I really did not know how old he was. He was old though, even older than me. Then they asked are there any girl elves that have their names, Brittney, and Megan? There are many elves that work in my workshop making toys for good boys and girls like you. I know all their names. However, some elves do not work in my toy shop. They are bakers, and shoemakers, teachers and builders. They live in the small villages around the North Pole. If I am not mistaken, in one tiny village, live two sisters who make dresses for the other girl elves, and their names are Brittney and Megan. The little girls thought that was cute.

“How old are you Santa?” “I like to think that I am still as young as you are Nathan, but in reality, I am hundreds of years old. I have been Santa for a long time. My father was a Santa before me, and my grandfather before him. If you go back before that, St. Nickolas was my Great, Great, Great, Grandfather.”

“Santa, do you have any children.” “Why yes, I have many children. All the children of the world are like a family, because I bring them presents at Christmas.”

“Why do you live at the North Pole Santa?” “Good question Martha. If you look at the world, the North Pole is at the top, so I can very quickly come down to many parts of the world in no time at all. In addition, when I moved to the North Pole, all my elves were already up there.”

“Santa do you go to McDonalds too?” “Why yes, sometimes I do. Why do you ask?” “Because you smell like McDonald’s hamburgers and
french
fries.” That is my favorite place when I am at the mall” she says. Thinking to myself; I was not there today, but the children that were just here were eating out of the familiar hamburger joint’s colorful food bags.

A parent once told me that while she and a young son were cleaning out some old boxes and paper bags, the boy found his Christmas Wish list he sent to Santa last year. “Mom, how did this get here? If you did not send this to Santa, then how did he bring me everything I wrote?” The mother said that all she could do say was that she kept the original that the child wrote for sentimental reasons and faxed a copy to the North Pole. He bought it.

Well, Christmas for this year is over, and time for this Jolly Old Elf to get some rest. The time to prepare for next Christmas Season will come soon enough. So on behalf of myself, the elves, and the assorted reindeer, Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a blessed night.

Epilogue

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing down my adventures of playing Santa Claus these many years, and the ability to share. I have gained a great insight into the man and the myth. I found that there is n
o single day throughout the year that can fill a kid with such amazing joyful energy. I have been a writer for over half my life, and t
his was by far one of my favorite experiences to write.
The blessing I have received of actually playing Santa and the witness of Christ’s beginnings on Earth that I have shared with others, will never leave my memories. The brightness of the Christmas enchantment shines as brilliant today as it did on the first day over two-thousand years ago.

From that first-day that I borrowed a worn-out Santa suit from a local fire department to now, has been a wonderful adventure. That first day, no one seemed to mind the faded pinkish-red Santa suit, nor the whiskers that were mostly gray and not white; I could carry the role past the appearance. I was suddenly aware that my apprehension and problems had vanished. It was plain that the man made the suit, not vice-a-versa. The Christmas spirit is for all those who carry a truthful wish in their heart when they utter the words, “Ho Ho
Ho
, Merry Christmas.”