“A Santa in white!” screams a wide-eyed Danish boy as he catches a glimpse of a Santa Claus who ditched his traditional red garb for a white suit at a Santa convention winding up in Denmark on Wednesday.
“No, no, my suit didn’t lose its colour in the wash! This is my summer outfit,” says this Santa Claus from Washington DC, who stands out from the other 150 Father Christmases and elves dressed in their fur-lined red suits.
The group has been holding its 51st annual meeting at the Bakken amusement park outside Copenhagen since Monday, discussing the Christmas calendar, slimming exercises and chasing a place in the Guinness World Records book with a hula hoop contest.
Sporting a slender physique, also in contrast to his rounder colleagues, the US Santa is easily the visitors’ favourite, especially among women who line up to have their picture taken with him and the roly-poly Danish Santa.
“Yes, Santas need exercise,” the American Santa says, noting that in the United States there is “a new movement for skinnier Father Christmases since American chimneys are smaller than European ones”.
“I disagree!,” shouts his colleague from Denmark.
“We don’t want to go on a diet. We just want bigger chimneys, that’s all,” he adds.
A giant Christmas tree dominates the main square in Bakken, decorated with brightly wrapped presents strung around the tree.
Jolly Father Christmases and elves stroll among the crowd, jiggling their big bellies and roaring “ho ho ho” as they hand out candy to the delighted children, who hand over their Christmas wish lists even though the big day is five months away.
This year, the convention focused on the Santas’ health, with participants agreeing to do more exercise to reduce their stomach size. — AFP