Men in Red Suits The Secret History of Santa Claus
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00:49I was never the most obvious candidate to play Santa Claus.
00:53There isn't much about my physique to suggest I'd make a good Santa,
00:57and I'm actually pretty introverted by nature.
01:06This is, however, the ninth year that I visit family daycares in Montreal's West Island.
01:12It's something I sort of fell into, at a time when I really couldn't refuse the work.
01:16🎵
01:27And for many years, playing Santa was just that,
01:30an easy way to make a little extra cash in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
01:35These days, I make my living as a teacher,
01:38and the Santa gig has become something other than a job.
01:41It's a personal ritual, an important part of my own winter solstice celebration.
01:47Every time I visit a house, without fail, my entrance is guaranteed to provoke a lively reaction.
01:52🎵
02:22🎵
02:33This year, the elements are conspiring against me.
02:36The unseasonably warm weather makes me feel like an anomaly in the suburban landscape,
02:41and I can't help but question the authenticity of my role, and of this whole bizarre tradition.
02:47And yet, putting on the Santa costume does somehow invoke a sense of transformation,
02:51as if I'm tapping into something ancient.
02:54That by impersonating Santa, I'm imbued with his spirit and actually become the character.
02:59🎵
03:07And is there anything special you'd like to ask Santa?
03:10I want a baby and tattoo.
03:18You want a baby and a tattoo?
03:20Oh yeah.
03:24Whatever the reactions, I take a genuine pleasure in portraying Santa Claus,
03:28and participating in this custom.
03:32Nonetheless, I can't shake the doubts I have about Santa, and what he's come to represent today.
03:41Over the past two centuries, Santa Claus has changed.
03:44He's evolved from a stern, Catholic saint, to the leading ambassador of Western capitalism.
03:53He's everywhere for two months, from Halloween until the New Year.
03:58And he's become the ringleader of the commercial frenzy that surrounds Christmas.
04:06Can this caricature, this salesman, retain any sense of magic at all?
04:10Or has Santa lost all credibility?
04:18Up to this point, I'd only visited preschoolers,
04:21and I was curious to see how older children felt about Santa Claus.
04:26I inquired about visiting a local elementary school,
04:29and the principal accepted with one condition.
04:32I would have permission to interview the students, if I agreed to appear,
04:36I would have permission to interview the students, if I agreed to appear as Santa.
05:07He's a nice little man, with a beard up to a kilometer long,
05:11with a pompom tuque, just like at school.
05:14He gives us presents if we're nice,
05:17and if we're not nice, he doesn't give us presents,
05:21or he gives us whatever we want.
05:24I've never seen him, so I don't know if he exists or not.
05:28It's like extraterrestrials.
05:30Because when I was a kid, I went to a store,
05:33and I recognized that it was my uncle, Santa Claus.
05:36Oh no, it's true!
05:38And also, it was Martin!
05:41Mr. Martin, the concierge, who did that.
05:44Because he's big!
05:46Yeah, that's it, he's a little...
05:47He won't be happy if he hears that.
05:49Yeah, that's true.
05:51Are you three?
05:52No.
05:53No? Why?
05:54Well, because my parents told me.
05:57And what did your parents tell you?
05:59Well, they told me no, because I had a big doubt.
06:03I had already seen them give me presents.
06:10Oh, you had seen that it was your parents?
06:12Yeah.
06:13One night, we were at Madeleine's island,
06:16and he asked me, he said,
06:18Mom, I really want to know.
06:20I'm ready to hear everything that someone has to say.
06:24And I said no.
06:27No.
06:28It didn't exist.
06:29We talked about it, and then he said,
06:31Yes, but the Fairy of Teeth,
06:33the Fairy of Stars,
06:36the...
06:37the...
06:38the...
06:39the Rabbit of Spades,
06:40all those things, they don't exist.
06:42And I said, well, no.
06:44So there was a shock,
06:46because all these characters,
06:48that she believed in,
06:50flew away in one night.
06:53And I was the one who was sad.
06:55Because that night, I cried in secret.
06:58I said, Mom, it's horrible,
07:00because I have two boys.
07:01My children don't believe in Santa Claus.
07:03I said, but...
07:04And all the characters flew away.
07:06I said, let's tell them.
07:07And Robin, that night, he said to me,
07:09after that, he said to me, does God exist?
07:14Lots of my schoolmates don't believe that he exists,
07:17but I think that he exists for the people who believe in him.
07:21I mean, you won't come if you don't believe in him.
07:26And you have to have faith that he exists.
07:31If people believe in God, then why couldn't Santa Claus,
07:34why couldn't people believe in Santa Claus?
07:36I mean, just because we don't see him,
07:39why can't we believe in him?
07:41I mean, it's kind of the same thing for me.
07:45I'm struck with how these children seem to be confronting
07:48notions of faith and belief,
07:50perhaps for the very first time.
07:57I'm only a part-time Santa myself.
08:00There are surely men who take the role more seriously,
08:03who completely inhabit the character.
08:09I decide to observe one such child.
08:12I decide to observe one such Santa up close,
08:15in his natural habitat.
08:43Gradually, my beard turned white,
08:46and that happened quite quickly.
08:48Then the children started to look at me in a strange way,
08:51and sometimes I could hear in my back,
08:54it's Santa Claus.
09:01In his life, Jean Roussier has worked as a psychic,
09:04a tarot card reader, an herbalist, and an astrologer.
09:10As Santa Claus, however, he's found the role of a lifetime,
09:14and realized his destiny.
09:39He didn't ask me if I was Santa Claus.
09:42He said, here, this is my list.
09:44Five minutes later, another boy arrived,
09:47and said, it's my brother who's come.
09:50But don't bring him everything he asked for,
09:52because he wasn't nice.
09:56That's when I had the impression
09:59that the children had chosen me as Santa Claus.
10:04You know, children never make mistakes.
10:09There was an ad in the paper,
10:11they needed Santa Claus at the shopping center,
10:13and I went to the Santa Claus throne,
10:16and I found it pleasant, the children's behavior,
10:19the tent, and all the magic that can be found around Santa Claus.
10:31When you're Santa Claus, you love children,
10:33but you don't learn to love them.
10:35You love children, you simply love them.
10:38I mean, you don't force yourself.
10:41It's natural.
10:44Santa Claus doesn't last long.
10:46Be nice.
10:47It lasts four years in a life, four years of happiness.
10:50And it leaves no trace,
10:52because you need dreams.
11:09Meeting Jean Roussier has convinced me
11:12that there can be more to Santa than meets the eye,
11:15that the men who portray this figure
11:17are participating in a tradition
11:19that's much richer than the image
11:21we've lately become accustomed to.
11:23I've decided to look further into this archetype,
11:26and at the men who portray Santa Claus.
11:39For some men, being Santa is a true vocation.
11:43Like Roussier, they're chosen.
11:45For others, it's less obvious.
11:47They have no real calling.
11:49They must learn.
11:51But how does one learn to be Santa Claus?
11:54There's a Santa school in Denver, Colorado.
11:57We're going to go on a wonderful adventure,
12:00and I want to thank you all
12:02for choosing to go on your Santa adventure
12:05with American Events and Promotions,
12:07Mezco Enterprises, Inc.
12:09That's me, Susan Mezco.
12:11This is my 24th year,
12:13so I'm pretty good at abusing Santas nicely,
12:16and you won't even know you're being abused.
12:19If you'll stand up and introduce yourself.
12:22I'm Bob Taylor, BBB, Big Bad Bob.
12:25This is Willie.
12:27I'm in the heating and air conditioning business
12:31and currently out of work.
12:33But I planned it this way to be the Christmas season.
12:37So I'm glad to be here.
12:40I'm Santa Chopper.
12:42I enjoy every year becoming Santa.
12:45Just watching the little children's faces light up,
12:48it's a big joy to me,
12:50and I just hope that my experiences
12:52over the last few years I can share with everybody here
12:55and help you guys grow as all the veterans
12:57has helped me grow quite a bit.
12:59That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
13:03Everyone has a different reason for wanting to be a Santa.
13:07Oh, well, Santa's cool.
13:09Oh yeah, I can put on a red suit,
13:11strap on a beard, good to go.
13:13You know, hey, what do you want for Christmas?
13:15What's your name? Great, here's a candy cane.
13:17Boom, I'm going to make a lot of money.
13:19Well, it's not about just looking like a Santa.
13:22Look, you're all good chimney climbers.
13:24Let's take our shovels and let's shovel snow at the North Pole.
13:28Oh, you guys are good, especially those Canadian guys.
13:31Man, they can shovel snow, look at them go.
13:34All right.
13:35Susan is totally committed to the idea of Santa Claus,
13:39and she expects total commitment from her students.
13:42Her classes are clearly intended to produce Santas
13:45who live up to strict standards
13:47and who can fulfill all that's expected of the jolly elf.
13:51When you come to the school, you come in
13:53and you find out that there's philosophy to it
13:56and that you need to know the toys
13:58and that there might be a handicapped child
14:00or a deaf child that comes in.
14:02So when we break it into the puzzle pieces
14:05of the child psychology, the nutrition,
14:07the acting, the physical fitness,
14:09it creates an insecurity like maybe I don't want to do this,
14:12which is great because when they question themselves,
14:15then they go deeper inside and develop their own motivation.
14:19The night before Christmas, and all over the house
14:23Not a creature was stirring, not even an elf
14:26Once you get in the room,
14:27you start feeding off the energy of the children,
14:30and they look at me like I'm next to God, in a sense.
14:34I'm just as popular as a God figure would be.
14:37And they just give me that respect,
14:40and it's a really good feeling.
14:42You're bigger than a rock star.
14:44You're bigger than an athlete.
14:46You're bigger than a Hollywood star.
14:49You are the great elf.
14:51It gives them someone to believe in, a hero,
14:55and there aren't that many heroes left in this world.
14:59You put your left hip in, you put your left hip out
15:02You put your left hip in, and you shake it all about
15:06You do the ho-ho-pokie, and you turn yourself around
15:10That's what it's all about
15:12You put so much into this that it's almost like
15:14you don't need food, you don't need sleep,
15:16you just are so focused on getting the product done
15:22of creating these Santas.
15:24Sometimes I feel like Frankenstein in the laboratory
15:30waiting for the electricity to come down and spark them
15:34and poof, yes, they've got it, and they feel confident
15:38I can send them out as Santa Claus now.
15:41Santa is omnipotent.
15:43Nobody has as much power as Santa in December.
15:47President, prime minister, nobody.
15:50You don't have to move the brush, just blink through it.
15:53Feels kind of weird at first, but after a while
15:55you get to kind of liking it.
15:57So I start on the inside, because if you're brushing in,
16:00you'll brush it all over your nose.
16:15We're going to pour this down there.
16:19Believe me, you'll thank me later.
16:23Is there any question as to who's really Santa?
16:27Now they go, I got it, I know about this, and I can act,
16:30and great, I'm good to go.
16:32And then we bring the real children in.
16:34You want to give Santa a special hug before we go?
16:37And sometimes I'll role play with the Santas,
16:41and it breaks them.
16:54Is there anyone in your family, Katie, that you can call?
16:58Like an aunt or an uncle?
17:00No, because my dad killed my aunt and uncle,
17:03and then he went to jail, and now he just got out.
17:07Well, that's a tough situation, Katie.
17:11I don't know.
17:13I don't know.
17:15I don't know.
17:17I don't know.
17:19I don't know.
17:21I don't know, Katie.
17:32I'm somewhat perplexed at the end of the weekend,
17:35and I have this sort of nagging sense
17:37that I may not have passed Santa's school with flying colours.
17:40It's interesting, though.
17:42The Santas I met were engaged
17:44in a thoroughly modern commercial enterprise,
17:46and yet they seemed to be collectively reaching back
17:49into the depths of the character.
18:03In many ways, Christmas as we know it
18:06developed in New York City.
18:08A visit to Santa Claus in a big New York department store
18:12remains the quintessential Christmas experience.
18:20Lord & Taylor is one of the city's oldest
18:23and most respectable stores.
18:25They agree to grant us an interview with their Santa,
18:28Al Foote III.
18:30Are you guys doing anything special for Christmas?
18:32What you doing?
18:34Well, yesterday we just decorated the tree.
18:36You did?
18:38If a child says, Are you Santa?
18:40I won't say yes to the child,
18:42but if you ask them, if you engage their imagination,
18:47then often they'll bring themselves
18:50to that precipice of belief
18:52and willingly throw themselves into it.
18:55They'll do that wonderful suspension of disbelief
18:58that allows us great moments of theater.
19:01Oh, those are the cutest earrings ever.
19:04She has little New York Mets snowmen for earrings.
19:08They're very cute.
19:10If whatever Santa means to the performer playing him
19:15is true,
19:17then I think it comes out and is...
19:22allows that icon to come to life
19:25without just being a surface.
19:27And you've been a good girl all year.
19:29Yep.
19:30Are you going to leave Santa any cookies this year?
19:32Yep.
19:33What kind?
19:34Uh, chocolate.
19:36Chocolate cookies?
19:37Yep.
19:38Oh, my favorite!
19:39I can't wait to come and visit you.
19:41Oh, wonderful.
19:42Here, I've got a candy cane for you.
19:45Are we getting a picture?
19:46Yeah.
19:47Wonderful.
19:48Here we go.
19:49On occasion, you'll get the child whose parent has passed away
19:52or who's had maybe a pet that is even a pet.
19:56I mean, certainly is heartbreaking for a child.
19:59You know, sometimes it's their first experience with mortality.
20:03And I guess it was probably the second or third year
20:07I was at Lord & Taylor
20:09was the December after September 11th.
20:13And I was dreading being Santa that year.
20:18You know, what do you want for Christmas
20:20all of a sudden became an incredibly loaded question.
20:24I was terrified of being asked about,
20:31I want my daddy back.
20:33You know, I want my mommy back.
20:36And it was, again, just going to that truth of that role.
20:39And Santa is about love.
20:41Santa is about compassion.
20:43And you know that offering a toy to a child
20:46that's experienced so much loss isn't going to mean anything.
20:50But being there to, you know, just give a child
20:54that unconditional love of Santa and give him a hug
20:57and, you know, say, well, you know, I can't do that.
21:02Santa doesn't have that kind of magic.
21:04But usually they would be with somebody else and saying, you know,
21:07you've still got somebody who loves you.
21:09You still have your family.
21:11Just having them hang tight to what is still there
21:14and showing them where that love is,
21:18is I think where Santa can give something
21:23to somebody who's lost so much.
21:25¶¶
21:36¶¶
22:00We're going downtown to visit now
22:03with a very different type of Santa Claus.
22:05We'd met Thich Shea through the friend of a friend,
22:08and he was happy to receive us in his tiny apartment
22:11on Avenue A in the East Village.
22:13Hello, Dick?
22:14Yes, this is Mark with the documentary film crew.
22:21Hey there.
22:22How you doing?
22:24Ho, ho, ho!
22:26I'm Mark.
22:27Hi, Mark, nice to meet you.
22:28Nice to meet you.
22:29Come on in.
22:32Check your mail.
22:35None.
22:52So you're like a veteran, Santa.
22:54You've been doing it for a long time?
22:56Yeah, 15 years.
22:59But I'm a veteran also, so...
23:02It's almost always Manhattan Mall.
23:04I have people there that have come to me
23:06there for 14, 15 years, you know.
23:09One guy's come there,
23:10he came there when he was 8 years old.
23:14Now he's bringing his kid, so...
23:17It's a long, you know, it's a good hook
23:19because they like coming back to the same guy,
23:23the real one.
23:26Merry Christmas, Santa!
23:28How you doing, guys?
23:29Good, how's everything?
23:31Everything's good.
23:32You got a cute little doll in that bag for me?
23:35Yeah, yeah, very small.
23:37Santa, I gotta get a picture of you for my daughter.
23:40Nah, that's fine.
23:42There was a little girl that comes up and says,
23:44are you real?
23:45And I said, well, are you real?
23:48She gets on my lap and said,
23:50what do you want for Christmas?
23:52I said, I want my daddy to come home.
23:55I said, you're so wonderful,
23:57I'm sure your dad would be here if he could.
24:00Any way he can make it, he'll be here
24:02because you're such a special, wonderful person.
24:05Then the grandmother talks to me and says,
24:08her dad won't be coming home.
24:09She saw him get handcuffed and taken off by the police.
24:13They took him away in front of her.
24:16So that won't be part of her Christmas.
24:22Those stories affect me, but I'm pretty solid
24:27and steeled about it when you hear it.
24:30You know, I just, I'm sympathetic genuinely,
24:34and I also can keep some sort of veneer up
24:40so I don't just completely crack up.
24:46And I tell people that the kids are all,
24:50all wonderful, you know,
24:52and then they grow up to be us.
25:10It's in the basement of this Midtown shopping mall
25:13that Dixie spends the two busiest
25:15and happiest months of the year.
25:19Okay, one, two, good.
25:23It's not completely removed from reality,
25:25but it is a place where certain lines are blurred,
25:28a sanctuary where adulthood can sometimes be put on hold.
25:33Can you tell the difference?
25:37When I was about ten, I think,
25:39my younger brother told me there was no Santa Claus.
25:44I grew up to prove him wrong is what I figured.
25:48The mall last year decided that they had other ideas
25:52and they let me go, but I was really attached to the mall,
25:56and the people wrote in and called in
25:58and complained and got me back there,
26:00so I'm back with a lot of the same families I was with
26:04and watching the kids grow up, and it's just a wonderful thing
26:08because you're playing with somebody's precious,
26:10precious item, like, for 30 seconds,
26:13you get to be with somebody's best part of their life, you know?
26:21Ho, ho, ho!
26:23Ha, ha, ha, ha!
26:26Saturday morning, the Lower East Side of the city.
26:30The entire crew is getting dressed as Santa Claus.
26:35We're with Jody Franklin, a performance artist
26:38and Santa enthusiast from Victoria, British Columbia.
26:41The cheaper the suit, the better.
26:44He's going to show us how to get dressed as Santa Claus.
26:50It's another warm day, and still not very Christmassy.
26:54My fellow conventioneers seem to be unbothered by this.
27:02Woo!
27:03Woo!
27:04Woo!
27:05Woo!
27:06Woo!
27:07Woo!
27:08Woo!
27:09Woo!
27:10Woo!
27:11Woo!
27:12Woo!
27:13Woo!
27:14Woo!
27:15Woo!
27:16Woo!
27:17Woo!
27:18Woo!
27:19Woo!
27:20Woo!
27:21Woo!
27:22Woo!
27:23Woo!
27:24Woo!
27:25Oh, no!
27:26Santa needs a helper!
27:27Santa needs a helper!
27:28Somebody grab that arm!
27:30You!
27:32Woo!
27:33Woo!
27:34Woo!
27:35Woo!
27:36Woo!
27:37Woo!
27:38Woo!
27:39Woo!
27:40Woo!
27:41Woo!
27:42Woo!
27:43Woo!
27:44Woo!
27:45Woo!
27:46Woo!
27:47Woo!
27:48Woo!
27:49Woo!
27:50Woo!
27:51Woo!
27:52Woo!
27:53Woo!
27:54Woo!
27:55Woo!
27:56Woo!
27:57Woo!
27:58Woo!
27:59Santa's busting a move!
28:00He's busting a move!
28:08Santarkey, a word derived from Santa and anarchy,
28:11began on the west coast of the US in the early 90s,
28:14and it's almost surely an offshoot of the merry pranksterism of the 1960s.
28:19Going further back, it has its roots in the obscene public pranks
28:23of the Surrealists and the Dadaists.
28:27As loosely organized by the Cacophony Society,
28:30the gatherings draw dozens, hundreds,
28:32even thousands of participants across the globe.
28:35In some cities, the large groups of Santas
28:37seem to take on the form of protesters or activists.
28:41In New York, however, the mood is largely devoid of politics.
28:44The tendency is toward hedonism and a celebration of naughtiness.
28:51For many of the participants, Christmas is not sacred.
28:54In fact, they reject most trappings of the holiday.
28:58Santa, however, is not being rejected.
29:01He's wholeheartedly embraced.
29:04The event serves as both a mockery and a celebration of Santa Claus.
29:09In many ways, Santa key resembles Halloween or Mardi Gras
29:12much more than the Christmas we know.
29:15We're appropriating the image of Santa
29:18and we're merging it with the ancient pagan traditions
29:22and we're taking Saturnalia back in the guise of Santa.
29:30Jody's referring to Saturnalia,
29:32the ancient Roman winter solstice celebration,
29:35known for feasting, cross-dressing,
29:37and public manifestations of excessive behavior.
29:43Christmas was celebrated in a similar fashion
29:45right up until the mid-19th century,
29:47when the holiday was domesticized,
29:49successfully limiting such public displays of good cheer.
29:57Oh, you are really glittery. Is that OK?
29:59Fabulous.
30:01Yes.
30:03I persisted in my belief of Santa Claus until I was 12 years old.
30:08I didn't think of Christ as plausible by the time I was 8 years old,
30:11but I wanted to believe in Santa.
30:13I was going against the grain,
30:15I was rebelling against everybody else and saying,
30:17OK, you know, you don't believe in Santa,
30:20but I know that Santa exists,
30:22and here I am, you know, 20 years later,
30:26and I'm living proof. I am Santa now.
30:29He does exist.
30:32Let's go to Times Square.
30:39Being in a Santa costume, in a mass of other Santas,
30:43it's like you feel you can do things
30:45that you might not be able to do otherwise.
30:48It's roving performance art.
30:50See, this is Bambi, see?
30:52And Bambi had a troubled childhood
30:55and has now become kind of a sexual freak.
30:59And we are... Bambi is actually dispensing gifts.
31:04Here, this asshole.
31:06So you may go in and get yourselves some chocolate kisses.
31:10It is literally the Hershey Highway.
31:16Here. You don't know where that...
31:18Watch out, nothing to see here, move along.
31:24I've been keeping up with the Santakists for eight hours now.
31:27Coffee is required.
31:34Santa's on the carousel, the carousel.
31:36Santa's on the carousel.
31:38Before the taming of Christmas,
31:40New York was marked by impromptu displays of public drinking,
31:43of crowds singing and hollering,
31:45beating on pots and pans,
31:47and creating a cacophonous sound known as Calathumpian music.
31:51With Santorchi, it's as if this wild spirit
31:54of a drunken solstice festival remains untamed.
31:57And Santa, in all his glory, is King,
32:00the Lord of Misrule,
32:02an exuberant, joyful Master of Ceremonies,
32:05the cousin of Bacchus, Dionysus and Pan.
32:08I fell in love at SantaCon, so it changed my life.
32:12We consummated our relationship at SantaCon amidst other Santas.
32:20It started out quite innocently with touching,
32:23and then it, you know, seemed...
32:25I've been having trouble keeping my pants on tonight,
32:28and that's what was happening at the first SantaCon as well.
32:32Lord have mercy on my soul.
32:38Late into the night, it gets a lot more debaucherous.
32:41We really tap into the spirit of Dionysus
32:44with the sex, with the intoxication.
32:47We really got that ancient pagan spirit going on.
33:09What are you, stalking me over here?
33:11You Canadian...
33:13Canadian filmmakers over here following a chicken around.
33:16What do you want, a piece of this?
33:18You want a piece of this?
33:20Come on over here, Santa. Come on, Santa.
33:23Give it to him. Give it to him.
33:26When I'm accosted and publicly spanked
33:28by the creature calling himself the Hanukkah Chicken,
33:31we take it as our cue to leave.
33:34We've seen enough Santas for one day.
33:47In fact, I feel as if I may have seen enough Santas
33:51to last a lifetime.
33:53For the first time, I understand people
33:55who can't even stand the sight of the character.
34:17In Germany, an anti-Santa movement
34:20has recently seen the light of day.
34:23We traveled to the St. George Seminary in Frankfurt
34:26to meet Eckhart Bieger, one of the instigators
34:29and principal architects of the movement.
34:47The Santa Claus is an invention of the 19th century
34:51that was created as a driving force for the consumer industry.
34:57We then pleaded for it
35:00to show that Santa Claus is not the Santa Claus
35:05and we did an action called Santa Claus Free Zone.
35:08There were little posters.
35:11Here you don't see Santa Claus, but Santa Claus
35:15and that means we want to have Santa Claus
35:20and not Santa Claus.
35:22It's strange to see a society rise up against Santa Claus.
35:27The movement, which seeks to reinstate St. Nicholas
35:30as the true patron of Christmas,
35:32is also supported by Jeffrey Meyer,
35:34the American pastor of Frankfurt's St. Nicholas Church.
35:37Welcome to the Christmas market,
35:39which will be open today at 5 p.m.
35:42As you can see from the different portrayals of Santa Claus,
35:46the original historical figure of Bishop Nicholas,
35:50which we are trying to rediscover,
35:54has not quite caught on yet here in Frankfurt.
35:58According to the tradition, the Dutch immigrants
36:01in the 17th century brought their version of Nicholas,
36:05called Sinterklaas in Dutch, to the United States,
36:10and that tradition was melted together with other traditions
36:14to make our present-day Santa Claus.
36:17The depiction of Nicholas as Santa Claus
36:20goes back to the 19th century.
36:22It was actually someone from Germany.
36:24His name was Thomas Nast,
36:26an artist who did that original portrayal
36:29with the white beard and a very heavyset man,
36:32a jolly-looking figure.
36:34Coca-Cola picked it up in about 1931
36:37and developed it from there,
36:39and that's where we have pretty much our picture of Nicholas today.
36:43With Santa Claus, though,
36:45you're believing in a figure that only comes once a year,
36:48and as Christians, we try to teach faith and develop faith
36:52in the God who is with us day and night
36:55in each moment of our lives.
36:59I've learned that one group of this anti-Santa movement
37:02is preparing for an action to take place on December 6,
37:05St. Nicholas Day.
37:07We travel to the town of Schwerte to take a look.
37:11Yes, this would be the final product,
37:14the finished Santa Claus,
37:16who looks like a bishop,
37:18has the mitre on,
37:20has the bishop's robe on.
37:22And this evening, we want to dress 100 of these chocolate Santa Claus
37:27in real Santa Claus or transform them.
37:32The kids here will take their newly transformed chocolate saints
37:35to the streets and distribute them to passers-by.
37:38Hopefully engaging a few in thoughtful conversation
37:41about the true meaning of Christmas.
37:45I'm struck by how humble and essentially grass roots
37:48this movement really is.
37:51One thing's for certain, I don't think Santa's in any danger.
38:09But I do feel that it's good to say something about it.
38:26Who do you like better, Santa Claus or Santa Claus?
38:29Santa Claus!
38:31Aha!
38:33Why?
38:36Because he brings presents.
38:39He brings toys.
38:43For you, is it important to have Santa Claus or Santa Claus?
38:46Santa Claus.
38:48For my kids, both.
38:50For the kids, yes.
38:54Typical Christmas markets like these are rapidly changing.
38:57And the cartoonish Santa,
38:59a non-sectarian version of the old Saint Nick,
39:02is more popular than ever.
39:06Maybe the Saint Nicholas enthusiasts are right,
39:09and Claus is just a cheap, debased copy of a rich legend.
39:14And yet, maybe it isn't such a bad thing
39:17if Christmas is becoming more inclusive,
39:20not just a holiday for Christians.
39:23It's possible that Jodie and the Santricists are on to something,
39:27that Santa isn't just the spirit of Christmas,
39:30but of a timeless festival of light,
39:32which belongs to all people of all backgrounds.
39:48In the far north of Sweden, there are yearly Santa Claus Winter Games,
39:52a sort of Olympiad for Santas.
39:55And of course I'd been looking for a reason to go to the North Pole.
40:00In order to participate,
40:02one must simply show up at the central bus station in Stockholm,
40:05dressed as Santa.
40:12A bus will transport the various Santas to Gällivare,
40:15north of the Arctic Circle.
40:17All expenses paid.
40:20I join the other Santas,
40:22and I'm immediately transported by a sense of serious fun and goodwill.
40:27Finland, Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Germany, England, even Australia,
40:32they're all represented this year.
40:48And we're off for a 15-hour bus ride north,
40:51beyond the Arctic Circle.
40:53That's Gällivare.
41:16Upon our arrival in Gällivare,
41:18we see snow for the first time since beginning this journey.
41:23Santa Claus Winter Games
41:28You can see the difference between a real Santa and the English Santa.
41:34This is the beard.
41:36Where is yours?
41:41A spirit of camaraderie permeates the whole affair,
41:44and I feel welcome here.
41:54Be careful!
41:59The Nordic landscape reminds me of my native Abitibi,
42:02in northern Quebec,
42:04and I experience a sense of homecoming.
42:14Here, Santa is known as Tomten,
42:16a mischievous gnome of Swedish legend,
42:19who protected farms and was also known for pranks.
42:22One of the many pagan Nordic figures
42:24who can be seen as a predecessor to the modern Claus.
42:27This is my third year.
42:29The first year I won a gold medal,
42:31so I know what it's like being at the top.
42:36There's only one way to fall when you're at the top,
42:39and that's downwards.
42:41So last year I got the bronze,
42:43this year I think I'll get the wooden spoon.
42:46Good training, good training, very hard.
42:50In the next year, we'll be 10 of us,
42:53and we'll take first place for 10 years.
42:59No chance for Canadians, no chance.
43:02Maybe a little.
43:13Welcome to the Santa Claus Winter Games!
43:19On the big day, it becomes clear
43:21that the games aren't a very serious affair.
43:24They represent, above all, a pretext to give the public
43:27a moment of magic in the middle of their long Arctic winter.
43:31The Santas are here to put on a show.
43:34A spirit of celebration
43:36overshadows any real sense of competition.
43:43As I've not mastered the technique
43:45of the traditional kick sleigh,
43:47the game has ended, and I lose.
43:58The reindeer race is much more dangerous
44:00than I would have imagined.
44:02One has to hold on very tightly, or be thrown off,
44:05and if a Santa does fall from his ride,
44:08he's expected to do so with elegance.
44:13I finish by winning this event,
44:15one of the advantages perhaps of being considerably lighter
44:18than one's competitors.
44:36My chimney climbing is also received favorably.
44:39The judges are genuinely impressed
44:41by how gracefully I place my present under the tree.
44:45What style!
44:47Oh, Canada!
44:49Canada's Santa!
44:56The silver medal goes to...
44:59Canada!
45:01Canada!
45:09To my great surprise, I'm given the silver medal
45:12as the second best Tomten of the year.
45:15Not so bad for a part-time Santa.
45:24Are you ready? One, two, three...
45:26Ho, ho, ho!
45:28Ho, ho, ho!
45:44Santa Claus is a nocturnal creature.
45:47Born in the long winter night,
45:49he appears to bring the gifts of light and hope
45:52at the darkest time of year.
45:59It's only 6 o'clock in the evening,
46:01and yet it feels like the middle of the night.
46:04I have the impression that I'm taking part in an ancient ritual
46:07and that somehow I'm approaching the source of the myth.
46:11Grilling meat over an open fire,
46:13in the middle of a snowy forest,
46:15feels almost prehistoric.
46:24These few short days in Galavari
46:26convinced me that Santa Claus may indeed be a relic of ancient times.
46:30Not just a toy salesman or a Christian saint,
46:33but something much older.
46:35A spirit, a necessary invention,
46:38devised to help us survive the long, hard winter.
46:45It's not easy to say goodbye to new friends,
46:48especially when you realise that you'll probably never see them again.
46:52And our hearts are very warm because of you.
46:56Stay, our hearts stay with you.
47:14Of course it's great to come home with a medal.
47:17But it's obvious to everyone that what really counts
47:19is having shared these three days in a spirit of perfect camaraderie.
47:29Back in Montreal, it still doesn't feel like Christmas.
47:33Any magic I may have found in Sweden dissipates quickly.
47:37In this weather, the holiday has a very mundane feeling.
47:44Downtown, I come across a group of anti-consumer protesters
47:48who offer free hugs to passers-by.
48:00Tonight, I'm going to see Mr Roussier again.
48:03It's the biggest night of the year for him.
48:18The fact that there are lights in the streets,
48:21the houses are lit,
48:23means that something important is going to happen for the children.
48:36And Santa Claus makes his grand entrance
48:38to the delight of the waiting children.
48:42In the end, this is where Santa finds his true meaning for me.
48:46As he emerges in the night,
48:48and people gather to cheer him and to celebrate together.
49:17They're only waiting for the right man.
49:20And then we'd all want to smile.
49:22We'd all want to catch them.
49:24We'd turn our heads to the right, to the left.
49:27Often, I'd turn around, I didn't forget.
49:29I'd put my hands behind my back,
49:32two hands, I needed four hands.
49:35What a marvel!
49:37The little ones, the three or four-year-olds,
49:40who saw Santa Claus,
49:42who were so desirous, who saw him on TV,
49:44who saw him in the books,
49:46in person, Santa Claus is coming.
49:48Who has more fun?
49:50It's also Santa Claus,
49:52because there's all this atmosphere,
49:54all this magic that is very beautiful,
49:56that has to last.
49:58And for me, it's going to last a long time.
50:03As much as trade can harm Santa Claus,
50:07I believe that trade will save Santa Claus,
50:11because we won't be able to live without him.
50:15It means that Santa Claus is a commercial tool
50:19that will be used more and more.
50:22And by doing so,
50:24we will more and more respect his personality,
50:28respect his role in society,
50:30respect the social side of Santa Claus,
50:33because Santa Claus is always good.
50:36He only has the role of loving children.
50:39So Santa Claus is on the verge of appearance,
50:43but not at all on the verge of disappearance.
50:52If Santa Claus does represent this timeless figure,
50:55who carries with him hope and wonder,
50:57and who transcends commerce and religion,
51:00then I allow myself, finally, to believe.
51:39© BF-WATCH TV 2021