Photograph by Katherine Bish
[Part of the "'tis the Season Cover Story"]
A Sign From Santa
Jim George (stlsanta@sbcglobal.net) can’t escape his alter ego—not that he’s trying. Sitting in the lobby of the Maryland Heights Centre, the white-bearded 62-year-old dons a red driving cap, wire-rimmed glasses and a shirt embroidered with the words “Santa Claus.” He even introduces himself as Santa, extending a photo that he typically gives children. “You’ll notice Santa’s number is not on there,” he says. “I learned the hard way: Do not give Santa’s number to kids.”
Two things you should know: 1) The beard is real and 2) Santa signs. Holding court at the Galleria on Tuesdays in previous years, the signing Santa brings new meaning to Christmas for deaf children and parents. “I suppose because it’s so rare that they run into someone who’s conversant,” he says, quickly signing the words with his freckled hands. He becomes animated as he tells stories of the children, his blue eyes sparkling and his voice growing louder.
After more than 20 years, George has learned a lot about being Santa. Even when he’s not in the suit, kids are drawn to him like the Pied Piper. “I’ll go to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and they’ll gather around me,” he says. “But I always leave before Santa’s float comes because I don’t want to confuse the kids.” (It’s the same reason he doesn’t shop in malls where he works.) He acknowledges that kids between the ages of 1 and 3 are often scared of Santa, but George is a pro at calming them down. He also knows the hazards that come with the job. “I’ve never been wet on or thrown up on,” he says, “though I have been bit and kicked.”
And to those naysayers who suggest Santa is just a big red embodiment of commercialism, the retired minister holds a different opinion. “I’ve heard all the arguments against Santa, and if people want to hold that view, it’s fine,” he says. “But Santa is about giving and love. Is there a time when it’s not appropriate to give or to love?”
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From the Horse’s Mouth
At the St. Louis Carriage Company (314-621-3334, stlouiscarriagecompany.com), located a block southwest of Busch Stadium, there’s always a blur of activity just hours before crowds start pouring into Winter Wonderland 10 miles west at Tilles Park in Ladue. Workers tack up more than a dozen horses, brush them down and hook them up to six-passenger white carriages. Among the drivers is Jennifer Holzum, who lives and works at the stables. The St. Louis native joined the company four years ago. Her associate is a 2,000-pound gelding named Twister. “We understand each other,” she says. “We’re both kind of spunky and a little out of sorts.” The duo trots out of the stable by 4:30 p.m. and spends the rest of the night in the cold, finishing up well after midnight.
“Last winter I had 7 inches of snow on my shoulders, and my gloves were frozen to my fingers,” Holzum says. The first time she ever drove a horse-drawn carriage, she spent the evening shivering in a black leather coat and tuxedo jacket. Since then, she’s learned to invest in coveralls and hot hand warmers, which she tapes to her arms and legs. “After you get really cold one time, you’ll never get that cold again,” she says. “You might look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, but you’re definitely warm.”
Despite frostbite-inducing weather, Holzum enjoys the job’s heartwarming moments. She recalls an instance last year when she whisked a couple from The Old Spaghetti Factory to the Arch steps, where the gentleman had spelled out “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” with tea lights. Holzum knows how to handle herself during such times. “I just leave them alone,” she says. “It’s their magic moment, so I let them enjoy it.”
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Caroling for a Cause
Ever since an ill-fated caroling trip years ago, we’ve often wondered what wassailing actually accomplishes apart from waking up the neighbors and exposing us to the cold. Singing with the St. Louis Christmas Carols Association (314-863-1225, stlchristmascarols.org), however, provides a meaningful reason for cold-weather caroling.
“With caroling for a cause, you’re giving twice,” says director Joan Koontz. “You bring the beauty of the music to your neighborhood, and you do something charitable for your community.” Last year more than 450 groups strolled St. Louis neighborhoods while singing for other people’s suppers. The result? Proceeds donated by generous neighbors went to more than 50 children’s agencies throughout the area, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Central Institute for the Deaf, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and many more. “When people see our canisters and labels, they know their donation will go to the right place,” say Koontz.
The gleeful group started in 1911, when businessman and philanthropist William Danforth gathered a group of friends to go caroling. As they went from house to house, the carolers quickly discovered that neighbors insisted on donating money as a token of appreciation. So to spread the wealth, Danforth founded the association and set up a system of distributing proceeds to the area’s less fortunate children. Nearly a century later, the organization is still singing strong.
Starting a group is simple: Round up a group of friends, and contact the association. Your neighborhood’s area chairperson will provide you with song sheets, canisters and door hangers, so you can let neighbors know you’re coming. Then on a clear December night, spend several hours walking to nearby houses and singing carols. While the smiles on your neighbors’ faces will be rewarding enough, it’s the kids’ smiles resulting from donations that make a lasting impact, even after those overplayed classics are off the local airwaves.
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Seeing the Light
During December, holiday lights become a backdrop to the city. Tilles Park, Anheuser-Busch, that house you swear was decorated by Clark Griswold—it’s as if we’re competing with Paris. Yet there’s a meaningful reason locals go to great lengths to keep the lights burning, a tradition started centuries ago. “The winter solstice is a celebration that the days are going to get longer, but it’s also the start of the coldest season,” says Ethical Society leader Kate Lovelady, who leads the group in its symbolic candle-lighting ceremony each December. “People come together to celebrate the return of the light but also because this is the time of year when we really need each other for warmth.”
At The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows near Belleville, it takes six weeks and 15 people to string up more than 1 million lights for its popular Way of Lights display. “We almost surgically put them up and remove them,” says facilities manager Glen Donjon. Although the grounds crew has it down to a science, maintaining the lights can be a nightmare during ice storms. So the staff keeps an electrician on hand at night and comes out every morning to repair damaged lights. They say the effort is well worth it. “Visitors might be coming just to see the lights, but they’re getting exposed to the true meaning of Christmas,” notes events coordinator Tina Ferrario Huck.
During Hanukkah—the eight-day Festival of Lights—Rabbi Levi Landa lights kerosene lamps at the top of a 14-foot steel menorah in front of the Chabad of Greater St. Louis at 8124 Delmar. Yet Landa believes the symbolism extends beyond Jewish tradition. “The message that could be shared, certainly by Jews but by everyone, is to spread the light and the warmth,” he says.
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Good Gifting
When asked what advice she’d offer parents during the holidays, Molly Curlee jokes, “Besides buying a bottle of wine?” As the mother of two young daughters, the co-owner of City Sprouts (6354 Delmar, 314-726-9611) understands the stress that comes with holiday shopping. Her advice? “Don’t overdo it.” A few great toys for the kids are plenty, especially when you consider the barrage of goodies from family and friends. With the economy slumping, it’s even more important to shop locally and choose durable, educational toys that will stand the test of time, rather than figurines from the latest cartoon hit. “Look for things they can pass down one day,” she advises. And when you do need to hit the mall, avoid crowds by taking advantage of extended hours.
Then there’s the card. Kippin Sanchez, co-owner of Vellum (120 W. Monroe, 314-909-1640), suggests shopping early. “That gives you time to pick your favorite and not be under the gun,” she says. Custom photo greeting cards are always popular, though Sanchez advises bringing in the photo ahead of time so the store can match the card’s color and theme with the picture. Vellum prints custom messages—last names, greetings and more—on the card stock, even up until the week before Christmas. “Some people think it’s impersonal to have them printed with your name instead of writing it,” says Sanchez. “We think it adds a sophisticated touch to print it and then write a personal message below.”
But what’s the real key to any memorable holiday card or present? “Make it personal,” says Sanchez. “It has to be meaningful.”
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$CRÜGE!
While some holiday cheer can be heartening, we realize too much of anything can be, well, nauseating. Thus, our inner Scrooge’s take on the season of spending
In a new millennium darkened more and more by manifold woes—economic, military and environmental—Christmas in the United States has gone totally bizarro. If Charles Dickens’ crotchety Ebenezer Scrooge were reincarnated today, in fact, he’d likely bludgeon Tiny Tim to death with his own little crutch in order to peddle the Cratchit mite’s organs on the black market. For some time now our so-called consumer society has flirted with terminal consumption, and this year Wall Street’s finally coughing blood. On Main Street, meanwhile, yuletide credit-card debt continues to linger to Memorial Day or even the Fourth of July—around the time retailers start strategizing for the freakazoid frenzies of Black Friday and beyond. As a result, the nobler aspects of the holiday season have tumbled into the gutter. Faith? Hope? Charity? They’re all hooking for mortgage money outside (pardon the phrase) the nearest big-box store. Moreover, from the average taxpayer’s perspective, the government’s multibillion-dollar bank bailout surely ranks as the “gotta re-gift this now” present to end all presents. Dickens, as ever, sounds painfully prophetic in this context. “Where angels might have sat enthroned,” he observed in A Christmas Carol, “devils lurked, and glared out menacing.” God help Us, Every One! —Bryan A. Hollerbach
By Jarrett Medlin and Maud Kelly
