Black Santa, the nativity scenes of Native Americans, and diverse-cast Christmas movies are becoming regular sights during the holidays as U.S. demographics transform.
Why it’s important: Advertisers, malls and movie studios have finally adopted various holiday images during a national calculation on race and as communities of color continue to claim Christmas as their own celebration.
- Black Santa-related public events have gone from a handful in 2016 to more than 200 this year, even during the pandemic, said Vivian Walker, founder of the Black Santa Directory.
- There are more holiday ads in the United States and the United Kingdom with diverse families.
- Artists sell cribs with the Sagrada Familia as Latin immigrants or as members of Jemez Pueblo in front of an adobe house in New Mexico.
Driving the news: A black family from North Little Rock, Arkansas, received a racist letter last month in response to putting a Black Santa on their front lawn. The white neighbors responded in solidarity with Santa Negra decorations to their own lawns.
- A United Methodist Church in Claremont, California, has recently built a nativity scene with a Black Lives Matter theme. Last year, the same church had a manger with the Child Jesus as a caged Latin migrant child.
- This year’s Lifetime TV movie, “A Sugar & Spice Holiday,” is one of the first Christmas movies with a predominantly Asian ensemble. Netflix’s new holiday hit “Jingle Jangle” focuses on a completely black cast in the Victorian period.
What they say: “Black Santa builds self-esteem for black children, but he also talks to parents of children of different races,” said Dr. Jihan Woods, a Dallas doctor and founder of the Find Black Santa app.
- Woods said the Black Lives Matter protests this summer made people of color more comfortable by displaying various holiday icons that reflect their experiences.
- “If it’s us, it has to look like us,” said Alexandro Jose Gradilla, a professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at California State University, Fullerton.
Between lines: Scholars say that the depiction of Santa Claus as a white man originated because he was a European importer, a mixture of the Dutch Sinterklaas and the character of British folklore Father Christmas.
- Images of a light-skinned Jesus were popularized by European Renaissance artists, who later took them to the Americas.
Yes, but: Santa Claus is also related to St. Nicholas, a 4th century Greek bishop in present-day Turkey, who was probably a dark-skinned man.
- The historical Jesus was a Palestinian Jew. Scholars say that Jesus and his mother, Mary, probably had dark skin and curly, dark hair.
- “It’s interesting that as people of color regain their figures to reflect, those figures return to their real appearance,” said Laura Elena Belmonte, a professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at the University of New Mexico.
The bottom: Walker said images like Black Santa and the Diverse Baby Jesus are mostly for adults. The children will jump into the spirit no matter how many figures appear.
- “The kids see a black Santa and they just see Santa. They’ll run up to him, sit on his lap and then he’ll stay to work.”