Oh, for the life of Jolly Old St. Nick: With a long, white beard, a hearty chuckle, and a belly like a bowl full of jelly, his job consists of making a list, checking it twice, and — one night a year — driving a sleigh to deliver joy to children around the world.
The women of Christmas lore are mostly relegated to secondary roles, like that of Mrs. Claus whose duties consist primarily of plumping up Santa, baking cookies and sweets, and corralling elves intent on making mischief.
But did you know that for a brief time during World War II, women held the top job of Santa Claus?
It’s true. With men off to fight, department stores intent on continuing the Christmas (shopping) tradition turned to women to fill Santa’s big black boots.
The first female department store Santa popped up in Chicago just after Thanksgiving in 1942. The Associated Press covered the event, where a woman dressed as Santa, minus the long, white beard, took her spot in Santa’s workshop to “pass on children’s wishes to her overworked husband.” One month later, the F.W. Woolworth store in Union, New Jersey hired Mrs. Anna Michaelson as its Santa, dressing her in a red skirt, white wig and long white beard. (Hey, it’s New Jersey.)
In 1943, New York City’s Saks Fifth Avenue turned to Daisy Belmore, a British actress, to play Mrs. Santa Claus. While Daisy dutifully informed the children who visited that she was filling in for her husband, she refused to play complete second fiddle and insisted on having her own throne. She also skipped the beard, but agreed to wear a skirt and red stockings instead of pants. The kids could’ve cared less.
By Christmas 1944, women Santa Clauses were all the rage. Max Factor, the famous Hollywood makeup artist who had taken it upon himself to establish a uniform look for men playing Santa Claus (5’9’’ and 180 pounds, belt size 48 inches or more) attempted to standardize “Lady Santa Claus.” He insisted women Santas lower their voices and paint their nails bright red, but left the decision of skirts vs pants to individual department stores. Not surprisingly, most Santas wore a skirt.
The end of the war meant that, like women’s professional baseball, the era of the female St. Nick was over. Sax Fifth Avenue’s Daisy Belmore returned to Broadway, while Woolworth’s Anna Michaelson went home to her eight children.
But department store managers recognized the potential of a husband-and-wife team of holiday cheer, and the era of Mrs. Claus arrived.
Nat King Cole first sang about Santa’s right hand woman in his 1953 Christmas song, “Mrs. Santa Claus,” whose tasks included (not in order) feeding the reindeer, wrapping the gifts, packing the sleigh, and keeping [Santa’s] red suit looking nice.
“She pitter-patters all around the workshop the whole year long, sings a merry-merry Christmas song, reads the notes from girls and boys, and turns in the order for their toys,” he sings.
“She fills every heart with wondrous joys.”
Aren’t we all Mrs. Claus?