How Santa Came to Be...

I just have to share a very special experience I had this evening...

I just finished watching the movie Santa Claus is Comin' to Town... and my goodness, was it wonderful! Oh, the magic of stop-motion animation...

A joyous walk down memory lane indeed. I have had my fill of the other classic Rankin-Bass films of Frosty and Rudolph in the past years, so it was refreshing to watch this movie. While most renditions of the St. Nick legend are nothing more than generic humbug remakes, a few Santa movies contain meaningful, uplifting messages. This is one of them.

Here is a synopsis to refresh your memory on how ole jolly Santa came to be...

Kris Kringle (voiceover by Mickey Rooney) is a young boy with a big heart and an immense desire to bring happiness to the village of Sombertown (get it?). Kris has started a gift factory where he builds colourful, bright toys and gives them to all the deprived local children to bring light to their lives and smiles to their faces. But the tyrannical ruler Burgermeister Meisterburger (Paul Frees) bans toys from the land, and thus Kris enlists others to help. So, with the assistance of magical elves, a school teacher named Mistress Jessica, and eight special reindeer (I'll bet you know their names!), Kris manages to overcome grumpy Burgermeister. He moves to the North Pole, gets married, and manages to successfully deliver toys to all the grateful children of the world on the holiest night of the year, earning him the name Saint Claus, or Santa Claus...

Ho, ho, ho... Oh, how the children (and adults.. teehee) all adore the loveable and gift-giving jolly guy!!
A neat tidbit of info I have always remembered... do you recall the full name of Mrs. Claus? Tis.... Jessica! I just love that!

With all the wonderful voiceovers, including Fred Astaire as the narrator (the Mailman)... the movie is such a joy to watch. There is great character development, a memorable storyline, classic sing-along songs, and most of all, a wonderful message.... *the* every holy Christmas message. This quote from the film sums it up quite nicely:


"Doesn't Santa take a little bit of unhappiness away? Doesn't a smile on Christmas morning scratch out a tear cried on a Saturday? Not much maybe. But what would happen if we all tried to be like Santa and learned to give as only he can give: of ourselves, our talents, our love and our hearts? Maybe we could all learn Santa's beautiful lesson and maybe there would finally be peace on Earth and good will toward men."


And that is the story of Santa Claus....