Toulouse: “masked” Santas die hard since covid
We see less and less Santa Claus for the end of the year celebrations. In question the health measures related to covid and a lack of interest sometimes for this tradition. A situation that penalizes this activity.
Would the tradition of Santa Claus strolling through cities, the aisles of shopping malls and department stores be lost? “I will not say that,” notes Alain Romera, 65, Santa Claus for decades with his wife Françoise. But it is true that since the covid, the job is more difficult and that the activity has fallen. There is also the multitude of leisure activities which have made children perhaps a little jaded and whose wonder is more difficult ”.
For his part, Alain still lost 80% of his turnover: “I could have worked more but with the covid nothing is easy. You have to put on a mask, or even a visor, keep the barrier distances with the children for the photo by disposing, a plush for example to preserve the separation, etc. In short, it is sometimes difficult to preserve the magic of this moment ”.
Alain, retired from the Children’s Hospital, continues to work with Christmas markets and individuals as best they can. “Being Santa Claus in shopping malls is like slaughtering. The pleasure is absent. Too much noise, too much jostling. Without forgetting the often very vague organization ”.
A Santa Claus also for difficult times
An activity that has seen good days again. Marc, in his fifties, remembers: “I put on the Santa Claus costume for years. Walking the streets, playing with the children, taking pictures with them, surprising them, was pure happiness. We were then a little confidants. He told us their gift secrets, talked about their sorrows, sometimes. With the covid pandemic, I quit. Requests have become rarer and health measures have become far too drastic ”. For their part, to compensate for the loss of activity, Alain and Françoise make Christmas scenes: “I also play Father Christmas, free of charge in hospitals to visit sick children. Santa Claus is not just the character of mirth. He is also there for the most difficult times. Like this child at the end of his life whom I will see on December 23, who has been waiting impatiently for me for weeks ”.
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