The Tradition of Santa Claus Returns After COVID
2022-12-07
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1Santa Claus is a character who brings gifts to children during the holiday of Christmas.
2During the holiday season, many performers play Santa.
3They appear across the United States in stores, hotels, and other places to meet with children and ask them what Christmas gifts they want.
4This year, Santa performers are back after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.
5But there are a few changes.
6Mitch Allen started a service that provides Santa performers called HireSanta.com.
7He has reported a 30 percent increase in demand this Christmas season over the last year.
8The company lost about 15 percent of its performers to retirement or death during the pandemic.
9Allen has a Santa database of several thousand performers.
10It includes events at Bloomindale's main store in New York and many events at Marriott hotels.
11Most of the Santa performers with Allen have moved back to the tradition of having kids sit on their laps.
12They are not considering COVID-19 infection in any major way, he said.
13But Santas can choose to wear a face covering.
14Chris Landtroop is a spokesperson with another agency that provides Santa performers, Cherry Hill Programs.
15She said the business's 1,400 Santas are working at more than 600 shopping centers this year.
16"I can't even explain how excited we are to see everyone's smiles at all locations this season without anything covering up those beautiful faces," she said.
17Cherry Hill Santas are also free to wear face coverings, Landtroop said.
18Some Santas are still keeping their distance.
19The Santa at Macy's main store in New York City will be seated behind a work station.
20So, there will be no lap visits there.
21Some Santas who stayed home for the last two years out of concern for their health have returned.
22But Allen said he is looking for new performers.
23Inflation has also made it difficult for people to continue performing.
24Many are older, on fixed incomes, and travel long distances to perform.
25They spend hundreds of dollars on Santa clothing and other objects.
26"We're charging the clients slightly more and we're also paying our Santas slightly more," Allen said.
27Bookings for many Santas were made months ahead, and some work throughout the year.
28Allen's Santas will make from $5,000 to $12,000 for the season.
29A few Santas told The Associated Press that the cost is not a problem.
30They are not in the Santa profession to make money but do it because they enjoy it.
31Allen and other agencies are seeing more requests for Black, deaf, and Spanish-speaking Santa performers. Allen also knows a female Santa.
32Eric Elliott and his wife Moeisha Elliott became professional Santas this year after first taking on the part as volunteers in 2007.
33Both are retired military members.
34They spent weeks in Santa Claus training.
35They learned American Sign Language and other ways to work with and perform to people with disabilities.
36Their work has included going to disaster areas with the Texas-based nonprofit Lone Star Santas to spread happiness during the holidays.
37The Elliotts said breaking into the professional world as Santas for the first time and being Black has not been easy.
38For some people, Eric said, "We understand that we're not the Santa for you."
39I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Santa Claus is a character who brings gifts to children during the holiday of Christmas. 2During the holiday season, many performers play Santa. They appear across the United States in stores, hotels, and other places to meet with children and ask them what Christmas gifts they want. This year, Santa performers are back after two years of COVID-19 restrictions. But there are a few changes. 3Mitch Allen started a service that provides Santa performers called HireSanta.com. He has reported a 30 percent increase in demand this Christmas season over the last year. The company lost about 15 percent of its performers to retirement or death during the pandemic. 4Allen has a Santa database of several thousand performers. It includes events at Bloomindale's main store in New York and many events at Marriott hotels. Most of the Santa performers with Allen have moved back to the tradition of having kids sit on their laps. They are not considering COVID-19 infection in any major way, he said. But Santas can choose to wear a face covering. 5Chris Landtroop is a spokesperson with another agency that provides Santa performers, Cherry Hill Programs. She said the business's 1,400 Santas are working at more than 600 shopping centers this year. 6"I can't even explain how excited we are to see everyone's smiles at all locations this season without anything covering up those beautiful faces," she said. 7Cherry Hill Santas are also free to wear face coverings, Landtroop said. 8Some Santas are still keeping their distance. The Santa at Macy's main store in New York City will be seated behind a work station. So, there will be no lap visits there. 9Some Santas who stayed home for the last two years out of concern for their health have returned. But Allen said he is looking for new performers. 10Inflation has also made it difficult for people to continue performing. Many are older, on fixed incomes, and travel long distances to perform. They spend hundreds of dollars on Santa clothing and other objects. 11"We're charging the clients slightly more and we're also paying our Santas slightly more," Allen said. 12Bookings for many Santas were made months ahead, and some work throughout the year. Allen's Santas will make from $5,000 to $12,000 for the season. 13A few Santas told The Associated Press that the cost is not a problem. They are not in the Santa profession to make money but do it because they enjoy it. 14Allen and other agencies are seeing more requests for Black, deaf, and Spanish-speaking Santa performers. Allen also knows a female Santa. 15Eric Elliott and his wife Moeisha Elliott became professional Santas this year after first taking on the part as volunteers in 2007. Both are retired military members. 16They spent weeks in Santa Claus training. They learned American Sign Language and other ways to work with and perform to people with disabilities. Their work has included going to disaster areas with the Texas-based nonprofit Lone Star Santas to spread happiness during the holidays. 17The Elliotts said breaking into the professional world as Santas for the first time and being Black has not been easy. For some people, Eric said, "We understand that we're not the Santa for you." 18I'm Gregory Stachel. 19Leanne Italie reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 20_________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22character - n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show 23lap - n. the area between the knees and the hips of a person who is sitting down 24excited - adj. very enthusiastic and eager about something 25smile - n. an expression on your face that makes the corners of your mouth turn up and that shows happiness, amusement, pleasure, or affection 26client - n. a person who pays a professional person or organization for services 27booking - n. the process of agreeing to and preparing for a performer to appear at a certain place to perform 28disability - n. a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities 29_________________________________________________________________ 30What do you think of inclusive Santa Clauses? 31We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.