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Santa Claus

Film

Exclusive Supercut: Very Bad Santas

By Jason Bailey on

There’s no single figure more beloved during the Christmas season — and in Christmas movies — than good old Saint Nick. But as the years have passed and times have grown more cynical, the holly jolly Kris Kringles of Miracle on 34th Street have been joined in the cinematic Christmas canon by boozing, screwing, stealing Santas of the Bad Santa ilk. For this special Christmas supercut, we’ve assembled some of the sketchier Saint Nicks of cinematic history; check them all out after the jump. … Read More

Pop Culture

Unusual Santa Claus Traditions from Around the World

By Romy Oltuski on

It’s thanks to centuries of Byzantine, Greek, and Scandinavian myths and folklore that this Christmas, some guy will put on a red velvet suit and fake beard to sit on a throne in Walmart, taking kids’ toy orders. But Santa wasn’t always the generous man in Walmart, nor is he everywhere today. That man is just one of the many evolutionary paths taken by tales of deities, sprites, animals, and St. Nicholas. In other countries, the patron saint of giving inherited different traits, leaving Santa with quite a few doppelgangers around the world, including goats, monks, and wise men who travel on camelback. Below the jump, we take you on a tour of Santa’s many representations around the globe. … Read More

Film

The Most Insufferable Holiday Movies of All Time

By Jason Bailey on

Everybody loves a good holiday movie. When we wrote last week about the beginning of the season, and our favorite annual Christmas movies (Die Hard and It’s A Wonderful Life), our readers threw in their favorites: A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, Bad Santa, Muppets Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, etc. But, lest we forget, every film of the season ain’t White Christmas; there are plenty of rotten holiday movies. (And, in fact, one of them is coming out tomorrow: steer clear of New Year’s Eve as though your life depends on it.) As many great Christmas movies as there are, it’s also a very tricky style to get right, requiring the proper mix of holiday cheer, sentiment, laughs, and warmth. It is pretty easy to screw that elixir up, and end up with something sickly sweet and utterly unwatchable. After the jump, we’ll gather up a few lumps of coal from our previous Christmas stockings. … Read More

Design

Santa’s Sleigh Gets a Luxury Automaker Makeover

By Caroline Stanley on

It’s a horrible cliche: A man getting up there in years and losing his looks decides to cope with his personal insecurities by buying something. Usually it’s a car. Quite often it’s red. But what happens when the guy who’s trading up happens to be Santa Claus? Some of the top car brands in the world are falling all over themselves to design something he’d go for. Just think of the visibility.

Peep some of Santa’s luxurious options after the… Read More