Dropping in: A family full of Santas
Spanish heritage lends festive name
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/12/2010 (5736 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
He’s a long way from the North Pole and isn’t the boss of a bunch of elves, but a 21-year-old man might be Windsor Park’s very own Kris Kringle.
Meet Christian Santa.
No, seriously. That’s his real name.
Most people don’t believe Santa, including one Free Press reporter who asked to see some ID. But it turns out Santa is for real, and the entire Santa family has an unusual connection with the holidays.
“My dad wanted to call me Tyrone,” Santa said, chuckling. “My mom shut that down.
“I got made fun of a lot, but after a while you kind of expect it.”
Santa comes from a long line of Santas, a Spanish name that dates back hundreds of years. His grandpa, Rudolph Santa, immigrated to Canada from Europe on Christmas Eve in the late 1940s.
At the time, Christian Santa said his grandpa’s name wasn’t considered festive. The red-nosed reindeer was just starting to gain popularity, and Santa said Rudolph was a common European name. His grandpa worked in the family business, Santa Furs, in Winnipeg.
“Rudolph didn’t have too much of a connection with Christmas at that time,” Santa said.
Santa’s father, Lawrence, is a bus driver who once drove at the helm of Winnipeg’s Santa Bus. And if you’re wondering, yes, he has a white beard.
Oddly, the Santa family is close friends with the Clauses and related to the Norths. Christmastime ends up being a big deal for the Santas, since Christian Santa was born Dec. 15, and seven of his other relatives have birthdays close to Dec. 25.
Andrea Santa, Christian’s mom, has even devised a no-fail method to help strangers spell their last name.
“I say, ‘Santa, like: ho, ho, ho!” she said.
But unlike Old St. Nick, these Santas don’t venture around the world to celebrate Christmas.
Andrea Santa said the family has spent the holidays with some of their Windsor Park neighbours for the last 20 years. She said the community is tight-knit, and families whose children grew up together have remained as close as family. This year, the Santas will spend Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve with their longtime friends who live down the street.
“I’ve known people who moved to other districts and moved back, because in the new neighbourhoods everyone is coming and going,” Andrea Santa said.
So what prompted the Santas to name their son Christian?
Andrea Santa said it was a toss-up between Alexander and Christian, and one name just seemed more fitting.
“Christian ended up being it,” she said.
Dropping In is a ‘random act of journalism’ that starts with a thumbtack on a city map and ends with a story from the street. See more Dropping In articles using the map below.
jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca
