No Sitting on Santa Claus

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Santa Claus is part of Christmas marketing. Christmas is a Christian holiday as the name implies, but Santa has no religious ties at all.

It is about buying gifts, kids whispered to a man in a white beard, big stomach and a red suit. Parents have no option but to get them because Santa has willed it.

Before the pandemic, this whispering used to take place on Santa’s lap. Not anymore. Covid-19 has put a stop to it. The virus discourages human contact. No kissing, no shaking hands, don’t stay so close to me (a song I think), six feet apart at the grocery store and definitely, no sitting on Santa’s lap.

Should shopping malls remove Santa from the advertising strategy because of Covid-19 restrictions? After all parents don’t want him to infect the little darlings. Remember, these very kids cannot visit their grandmother at the old age home, because she is regarded as a Covid-19 high risk.

No, the local shopping mall decided to go ahead with the Santa booth with all its red trimmings, but no sitting on his lap. He sits an arm’s length. The digital photographer then snaps the two sitting apart. Mind you, it’s not six feet apart.

The concern about transmission is evident in shopping malls, despite the high vaccination rate. The long lines waiting to sit on Santa’s lap are practically non-existent this year.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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