Most of the men who play the role are afraid of "Corona"

Santa Claus: I apologize, I am sick this year .. I am meeting you on the net

  • Many of those who take charge of Santa Claus fall into the category of high-risk people either because of age or medical history.

    A.F.B.

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The "Covid-19" pandemic this year has prevented American children from making the traditional visit to Santa Claus as usual, and in order to protect them and the old men who wear red uniforms and carry gifts, appointments are set online.

"I will not risk my life for a public or family celebration ... It is a big risk," said Joe Harkins, an 87-year-old Santa Claus from New Jersey.

Like many of his white-bearded companions, Harkins chose to do his seasonal winter business online.

The 80th man even went so far as to create his own company, which he called "Santa Encounters", which takes care of recording videos that disguises in Santa Claus want to direct them to a child.

"Most of the people who take on the Santa Claus mission are in the category of high risk, either because of age or because of medical history," said Rick Irwin, president of the Santa Claus Congregation in California.

He added, "What increases the risk is that children are among the most important carriers of infectious viruses."

As for John Sullivan, who has been on the mission of Santa Claus since 1981 in Illinois, all his encounters with children have become exclusively virtual, the first time since he started working as Santa Claus 30 years ago that he has not met any child in person.

The positive aspect of this shift to the default is that information about children can be obtained from parents in advance.

"I know their names, the names of their brothers and sisters, what they want, the name of their pet, and so on," Salivan said.

That way, when I start talking to the children, they tell themselves: This Santa Claus knows everything about me! ”

'I miss the hugs'

But the epidemic has not completely eliminated the presence of Santa Claus in shopping malls.

Cherry Hill Programs, which manages Santa Claus visits to more than 700 locations in the United States, has introduced changes to the encounters so that there is no direct contact between Santa and the children.

These include putting on the muzzle, mandating reservation in advance to avoid waiting queues, conducting daily checks for Santa and his assistants, especially for children, and preventing children from sitting in the arms of the old man.

Instead, Santa puts a plastic mask on his face, and sits on a highchair behind a glass partition, while the little ones sit on a bench two meters in front of Santa for the photo.

But many "red men" considered that the decision to adopt the Internet for Santa Claus's activities this year seemed wiser.

The appearance of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus without a muzzle in a parade in Georgia on December 10 turned into a nightmare for all parents.

About 50 children were infected with the Corona virus at the moment of taking pictures with the couple.

It is true that no symptoms appeared on them, but the results of the tests after a few days were positive.

The photographer from Virginia, Catherine Burgess, wanted to preserve the tradition of visits to Santa Claus, by writing a children's book entitled "Santa Claus in a Snowball", explaining why Santa was stuck this year in a glass ball.

The publication of the book was accompanied by real encounters with people who played the role of Santa Claus sitting inside snow globes the size of a human being, to ensure safe visits.

The photographer, a mother of three, explained that she composed the story and the human snowballs, in order to allow families to make their children live the experience this year as well.

But others expected the idea of ​​virtual visits to continue to attract parents, even after the pandemic.

"There will always be people who want to come to see Santa in the mall or invite him to their home, but the practicality of the virtual tour, and the ability to invite family members to participate in the Santa Claus meeting wherever they are in the world, will remain attractive to families in the future," said Rick Irwin.

He added, "Let's be realistic, today even children are accustomed to interacting virtually via the Internet."

But despite all the technological facilities, there is something that an online meeting cannot replace.

Joe Harkins expressed this reality by saying: "I miss their hugging, and their facial expressions when they talk to me ... I miss that so much ... nothing can substitute for that."

Santa Claus, 87-year-old, from New Jersey: "I will not risk my life for a public or family celebration ... it is a big risk."

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