TONY COX, host:
I'm Tony Cox, and this is News & Notes.
During this time of year, you can expect to see images of Santa Claus everywhere. Rosy, red cheeks, a big pot belly, long white beard. For the most part, we all know what Santa looks like, right? Wrong. In recent years, efforts to diversify Santa's image are gaining ground, and it's not so unusual now to find an African-American, Hispanic or Asian Santa at your local mall. Joining me is Joe Kahn, a staff writer for the Boston Globe. He wrote an article about Santa's ethnic evolution, called "Change You Can Believe In." Hi, Joe.
Mr. JOSEPH KAHN (Staff Writer, Boston Globe): Hi, and Happy Holidays.
COX: Happy Holidays to you. I suppose this is one of those things that people think about, but don't always talk about. When did these trend towards diversifying Santa Claus get started?
Mr. KAHN: Well, I think it is - from what I know, it accelerated in the 1990s. But it is probably going to gain more steam now for reasons we can talk about in a minute. But, you know, going back to the historical roots of Santa Claus, it really goes back to, I guess, the area that is now Turkey and a saint named Saint Nicholas, who did not look a lot like our current image of Santa Claus. Which really came out in the late 19th century, and was sort of cemented in popular culture by first, the poem that we all sort of know is "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," the visit of Saint Nick, and by the illustrator Thomas Nash who illustrated it. And then particularly kind of after World War I, by things like Coca-Cola and it's advertising, and the emergence of department store mall Santa now.
COX: Let me stop you there. Only because when I was a youngster, Santa Clauses were all white. But the time my kids came along, Santa Clauses started to get darker and darker and darker. Right?
Mr. KAHN: Yeah. And hallelujah, I think we can fairly say. Although I must say, when I started casting about here a little bit, in New England, there are not very many Santas of color. Certainly not in the department stores and malls, where the so-called professional Santas work. And by and large, they are, you know, the full, natural bearded Santas, who really look like Santa's suppose to look, as opposed to just the guys with the polyester beards. Down South, you do find them more, certainly in metropolitan areas like Atlanta and in the D.C. area, where the African-American population is larger.
COX: Is larger, obviously. Let me place something for you and the audience. This is Beau Stubblefield-Tave, he is a Santa Claus portrayer in Boston. And he talked to us about his observations as an African-American Santa. This is his second year as a Santa Claus. And he said that having African-American Santas is especially important for young black boys.
Mr. BEAU STUBBLEFIELD-TAVE (African-American Santa Claus Portrayer): So many of the images we see of black men are more like Fifty Cent or whatever, and I think it's really positive for them to see positive black men now. Obviously, have a president, here in Massachusetts we have a black governor in Deval Patrick, but I think other positive images are very helpful. And Santa's certainly one of those.
COX: So how would you - how do parents explain the different colored Santas that their kids are coming across in the malls and shopping places around America?
Mr. KAHN: Well, I'm not sure there's a how, but I think that that is a key part of this. When I talked to some families who would come to the holiday party that Beau was at as Santa, Overwhelmingly, they said, you know, for their young kids, they were just beginning to get some awareness of race and skin color. And for many of their - these parents they had at home black Santas, or holiday ornaments and decorations that reflected their own ethnicity. And they were beginning to get questions, maybe from four and five-year-olds about, you know, mommy, how come our Santas at home are black, but the ones at the mall are white?
You know, as kids get older, they make their own evaluations and adjustments to what they see in the culture. But I think what was true for earlier generations of Americans, just accepting that Santa looked the certain way, whether it was on a holiday card or the shopping mall, that's changing. And that should change, and that conversation about race and skin color, particularly at this time of the year.
I mean, this is a magical time of year, when we're really celebrating everything that we share and have in common. And a couple of the parents commented to me that they basically told their kids, look, Santa Clause is magical and he can be whatever color you want him to be, or whatever house he's in, wherever he is. And I think that kind of consciousness is tremendously appropriate for this season.
COX: Well, you know, let me just say to you that I understand there's a mall not very far from our NPR offices here in Los Angeles where they have a black Santa, a white Santa, a Latino Santa and an Asian Santa, and you can have your picture taken with either of those ethnic Santas by appointment. You heard of anything like that?
Mr. KAHN: I certainly have heard that down South. There are some big malls in the Atlanta area where they do have that, and they do let families know about a choice. And part of the big business of Santa now, Santas are really run by some large photo agencies. The business is really having your children's picture taken at the mall with Santa, and that becomes, you know, a lasting keepsake of the holiday season. And why not have a keepsake that you really admire and want to preserve? And then your kids look back and go, oh, yeah, you know.
COX: That's Santa Clause. Joe, listen.
Mr. KAHN: Santa looks like me.
COX: Thank you very much for taking the time with us. Have a Happy Holiday and ho, ho, ho to you.
Mr. KAHN: Oh, back at you. Thank you.
COX: That was Joe Kahn. He is a staff writer for The Boston Globe.
Copyright © 2008 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.