The Real Santa Claus
Although the years may have clouded perceptions, what follows is a relatively accurate description of my first encounter with the ‘real’ Santa Claus.
As a child, I would have boarded a bus with my parents, brother and sister to roll along the highway to the big city. That big city was Ottawa with its tall buildings, streetcars, and never-ending throngs of people. My Aunt Barbara may well have been present to remind us to hold hands ‘lest we get separated from one another’.
Entering the tall revolving doors at Freiman’s for the first time ever was an exciting moment, an omen of the adventures that awaited within. A gentleman in a neat uniform wearing white gloves would draw open the lattice-like metal door, then another door to invite us into a vertical rectangular box to shuttle us upward to the third floor. It would be my first ride in an elevator, a manually operated one, and it was free.
Upon opening those doors, a fairyland of the most toys you could ever imagine glittered as gold in the bright lights. There was row upon row of toys, of colouring books, of decorations and of cuddly teddy bears and dolls awaiting adoption. Best of all, at the end of these rows was Santa himself, who had brought these toys all the way from the North Pole. There were no carrying charges or added cost of transportation. Santa did it all by himself.
That Santa Claus would soon fade into history for a couple of decades before being re-animated through my own three children. It would reoccur about twenty years forward when Grandma and Grandpa brought their grandson to a big store to meet that same Santa, all the way from the North Pole.
Last year, around this time, I decided to reinvent a Santa Claus of my own by adopting a Christmas theme for the ‘Major-General’s Song’ from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. Today, I revisited the song, changing the lyrics to reflect the time of a post-Christmas gathering at the studio when it will be one of the two songs that I’ll contribute. Here’s the new version of the song: the words in brackets are sung by Santa’s helpers.
When Santa is engaged in his employment (his employment)
Or carrying out his philanthropic plans
(‘thropic plans)
His capacity for bringing gifts to children
(gifts to children)
Is greater than what any of us can
(of us can)
Our feelings we with difficulty smother
(‘culty smother)
With Santa Claus’s duties to be done
(to be done)
Aw, take one consideration with another
(with another)
Santa Claus’s work is not an easy one.
(easy one)
All:
With Santa Claus’s duties to be done, to be done
Santa Claus’s work is not an easy one, easy one.
When that enterprising fellow’s not a-gifting
(not a-gifting)
As he does every year at Christmas time
(Christmas time)
He dreams of all those reindeer bells a-jingling
(bells a-jingling)
And listens to those midnight church bells chime
(church bells chime)
When Santa’s finished doing all his duties
(all his duties)
He loves to lie a-basking in the sun
(in the sun)
Aw, take one consideration with another
(with another)
Santa Claus just needs a rest like everyone.
(like everyone)
All:
When Santa Claus’s duties are all done, are all done
Santa Claus just needs a rest like everyone, like everyone.
