This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Facherty, a 71-year-old professional Santa based in Henley, UK. It has been edited for length and clarity. The first time I was Santa was ...

The beloved Rankin/Bass 1974 ABC Christmas special celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024. Famed animators Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr. co-directed the 1974 TV special film, which premiered ...

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Stafford Braxton about his company, Santas Just Like Me, which provides Santas of color and representation for Christmas celebrations. Our next story starts back in ...

Somewhere in Maryland, there's a mantel with a framed photo of Santa with a raccoon on his lap. That's the image that comes to mind as a longtime mall Santa tells me about one of his oddest visitors, ...

Tis the season when professional Santas are in peak demand, but many who choose this line of work often view it as a higher calling and maintain some aspects of the identity all year round—even those ...

Given the fact that Santa Claus has so much to do in such a short period of time, every Christmas, he hires people to dress up like him and help spread the holiday cheer. At least, that’s what Marian ...

Sometime in December, 2010, my wife and I, bewildered, brand-new parents, found ourselves in a drugstore in Brooklyn, handing our infant daughter to a stranger wearing a fake beard. There is a photo ...

How does Santa Claus do it? In one long night, a stout and elderly man, equipped with a magic sleigh and eight flying reindeer, delivers toys to children in every household all over the world. The ...