They would receive secret gifts from him, and he was eventually made a saint because of his generosity. They also used their own experiences to retell what it would mean to learn a new language. You have 4 free articles remaining this month, Sign-up to our daily newsletter for more articles like this + access to 5 extra articles. So, according to Kelly, Santa is white, and so is Jesus. Initially, children were surprised to know that Santa was black. Rather than using all the money for his own pleasure and enjoyment, he used much of it to help the poor people. In their study of children's talk around issues of race, researchers Lee Heffernan and Mitzi Lewison engaged children in conversation on citizenship after reading Whitewash, a true story of a young African-American girl who is attacked on her way home from school by a gang who spray-paints her face white. But if white people want Santa, they can have him. October is the 10th month of the year. This can be quite overwhelming. The quality is unmatched with this decorative pieces hand-painted face, glass inset eyes, unique fabric and detailed accessories. We know much better what to do with him. Read the original article. This month is met by cooler days in the northern hemisphere and the start of longer days for the southern hemisphere. He fought against injustice and inequality. See, a “joke” is a “joke” because it’s “funny.” And you don’t decide if it’s funny, your audience does. His cartoon, which appeared in Harper’s Weekly, depicted Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack laden with toys for lucky children. Stories help children make sense of their own and others' experiences. Illustrator Molly Bang voices similar sentiments when she says that children by the age of five develop a particular way of seeing the world after reading such narratives. Asian characters were shown dressed in kimonos and sashes, often learning specific moral lessons from elders. Now it’s very possible that Megyn Kelly may have been a little confused here. I study children's literature. The original pictures featured Santa wearing a tan outfit, but over the next thirty years, it was gradually transformed into a red suit. She stated that telling a single story—defining a race, religion, culture, etc. St. Nicholas was a lot like the Santa we know and believe in (Santa is real: no one can tell me otherwise). Rather than using all the money for his own pleasure and enjoyment, he used much of it to help the poor people. Scholar Heidi Torres, for example, found in a study of 56 picture books that Muslims were depicted as living in primarily Muslim, rather than diverse, communities. You will learn something about everything! Nicholas is thought to have worn red and white attire, which could possibly be one of the reasons why our modernised Father Christmas wears those colors. So, Santa is unquestionably white. The goal of a white elephant gift exchange is to entertain party-goers rather than to gain a genuinely valuable or highly sought-after item. Not only did Sundblom have the robes of Saint Nicholas to copy, but he could also refer to the works of Thomas Nash, which showed a red coat before the end of the 19th century. But we’ll keep the olive-skinned, liberal, generous, charitable freedom fighter. September is the ninth month of the Gregorian calendar. Television holiday shows such as A Charlie Brown Christmas are almost iconic, with audiences watching them year after year. A song. It gets children to think of the pigs as a juicy hamburger and sympathize with the wolf. The problem with stereotypes, she said, was that they made the "one story become the only story.". Haddon Sundblom is the man who is credited with the creation of the modern-day Santa. As far as I know, those reindeer are not getting paid. © 2020 TIME USA, LLC. Why Is Santa Claus Always White? Kelly said that Jesus’ whiteness was a “verifiable fact.” Now, I have a bit of a personal connection here. He looked less like the pilgrims, and more like the people the pilgrims stole land from. So why not tell Santa and holiday stories from around the world this year? But this person is maybe just arguing that we should also have a black Santa. A white elephant gift exchange, Yankee swap or Dirty Santa is a party game where amusing, impractical gifts are exchanged during festivities. He was a historical figure; that’s a verifiable fact – as is Santa, I want you kids watching to know that. When children read these stories, they tend to develop single narratives, whether related to race or religion. But I have never lived in Nazareth because of… well, that’s for another time. In this poem, Santa is described as jolly and plump, with rosy cheeks, twinkling eyes and dimples. As far as Jesus goes, Kelly did admit that it had been wrong for her to proclaim Jesus’ whiteness. Once requested a user can see the status of his/her request. Researchers who have studied the role of multiculturalism suggest the importance of reading different versions of traditional stories, so as to move away from the single story. But what about Jesus? Twas the Night B'Fore Christmas: An African American Version, Santa 'Would Have Backed the EU in Brexit Referendum', Psychologists Warn Belief in Santa Could Harm Children, Looking for Santa Claus? He is obese, and he rarely speaks in complete sentences. But Megyn is making the same mistake many young comedians make early in their careers. So, St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus as we know him, was not white. If you take a quick look at a map of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, there’s a town just 9 miles up the road named Nazareth. NORAD is Here to Help. Beginning in the 16th century, Father Christmas was introduced to the UK and was the Santa-figure of the Christmas season. But that part of eastern Pennsylvania is also just a few miles from New Jersey, and I really can’t imagine Jesus having anything remotely to do with New Jersey. Amer Zahr is an Arab-American comedian. He didn’t look like Brad Pitt. And I must say, in my opinion, she is half right, which is one more half right than she usually is. He was pretty thin but did have a white beard and was filled with joy and kindness. He was not a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. In other words, I don’t think Megyn Kelly would consider my dad white, or Paula Abdul white, or Ahmed Ahmed white. based on a single experience or characteristic—contributes to stereotypes. Santa is basically a benevolent imaginary character with super powers. In this case, they understood the immigrant girl's story not as that of a Muslim immigrant, but a refugee, as a result of war and violence. Each time a user shows interest or sends the book , the receiver gets the notification regarding it. And it doesn’t stop there. The Fact Site is the number one source for the most interesting & random facts about animals, celebrities, food, films, games & so much more. Some even asked if he was the "real Santa's helper," a pejorative perspective. Megyn, please listen to me. All he ever got me for Christmas was socks and cologne. Thomas Nast, a popular American cartoonist, drew a picture of Santa for Harper’s Weekly magazine in 1862. Sometimes that’s lost on the humorless,” she said of her declaration of Santa’s whiteness. He blogs at TheCivilArab.com. Until this book, children had known only a single story—that Santa must be white. Jesus’ origins are not “far from settled.” He was not white. Well, we were laughing, but it wasn’t because you were trying to be funny. Santa has a street named after him for no good reason (remember “Santa Claus Lane”?). Researchers Jeane Copenhaver-Johnson, Joy Bowman and Andrea Johnson, for example, studied the Santa story through an African-American perspective. In my own study of children's picture books, I found that certain stereotypes of race and culture were repeated over and over again, creating a single story. These researchers used Melodye Rosale's Twas the Night B'Fore Christmas: An African American Version, a retelling of the familiar Twas the Night Before Christmas poem. User can also donate the book to other users. “Humor is part of what we try to bring to the show. Stories of African families featured characters who were poor, half-naked, and living primitive lifestyles. There are Bethlehems all over the place. Then, he only visits his actual friends for one day. But if white people want Santa, they can have him. Not only is Santa white, it also seems that he is from Mississippi. So his whiteness is really no surprise. | Opinion. He is definitely white. Santa makes his darker, subjugated, captive workers put in all the effort while he takes all the credit. Only one book can be requested at a time. He … The 100 Most Significant Figures in History, How To Increase Your Powers of Observation. The same researchers found that once children connected with the story, they could actually put themselves in the situation of the main character.