This Aviation Lifestyle
Santa’s Sleigh an aviation icon for the holiday
Isn’t it interesting that the Americanized iconic imagery of Santa bearing gifts for children features him flying through the air? I’ve thought of this often each year as the holiday season once again approaches: why Santa’s sleigh and flying reindeer is portrayed rather than the jolly old fella’ roaming around on foot, by horse or in a boat even at times.
It makes sense. of course, with the amount of “ground” Santa has to cover in one night. Rooftop landings seem almost practical with his getting to the various Christmas trees in order to place presents under them; facilitated by hopping down into fireplaces or, in the wonderful magical realm of all-things-Santa, however it is he gets into houses. In The Santa Clause movie starring Tim Allen, I thought it was brilliant how non-fireplace rooms were depicted. As Santa approached the houses without fireplaces, somehow fireplaces began appearing magically in rooms and then disappeared once he went back up the pseudo chimneys. Everything about Santa Claus is surreal within the Americanized depiction of what had earlier been known as St. Nicholas in other parts of the globe. So why not then a flying sleigh?
Of course, it was the endearing poem, The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore that defined our association of Santa Claus with arrival by flying sleigh. Written in 1823, Santa was depicted in this as an elf but that changed with the illustrations by Thomas Nast for Harper’s magazine beginning in the 1860’s. Santa suddenly got a whole lot bigger in both height and girth and so accordingly did the, “miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.” Then ole’ Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer got into the game via department store advertising creativity in 1939 from the efforts of the Montgomery Ward company. What else could Santa need aside from a souped-up sleigh that dispenses hot cocoa which was the new and improved version featured in The Santa Clause?
Personally, I think maybe it’s time he moved on from reindeer-powered sleigh ride flights to aerobatic plane rides!
Santa would have a blast wouldn’t he? Twisting and turning up there in the air; going super-fast in his Pitts, Decathlon, Extra and the like. I enjoy thinking of this modern day Santa flying around in a Pitts that’s but. of course, red and green striped. Zooming through the air and chucking out presents that somehow fall right down into chimneys, or magically-appearing chimneys, with no need to land onto rooftops. Santa Clause would make quick work of his one big night each year and those reindeer would be able to finally retire.
Of course, as it is with so many old-fashioned traditions, tweaking Santa’s ride may not be so good of an idea. As the present pile steadily grows underneath trees within households, so many folks I personally know no longer enact a “Santa tradition” with their young children. Or even celebrate a traditional style of Christmas or holiday season event. What was once a mass merchandised, mass societal expectation of real or faux snow, mistletoe and candle glow is now whatever one decides is celebratory for themselves and their families.
This isn’t a negative statement about today’s society, of course, but it does put the nostalgic Norman Rockwell kind of holiday depiction into a decreasing category segment. So maybe Santa should remain with his flying sleigh and reindeer buddies after all. In our varied and fragmented Post-Modern American lifestyles of today, the Santa and his Sleigh imagery could be labeled as Modern American archetypal nostalgia: deriving from the 1800’s, refined and peaking within the 1900’s, fading away within the 2000’s. But most of us would agree, however that it’s good at times to enjoy nostalgia and when better than during the winter holiday season?
At the very least, the wish expressed in Moore’s poem still ring true in this current day and time when he has Santa saying, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” So here’s wishing readers and fellow aviation enthusiasts the same and also Happy Hanukkah and Kwanza too as we all enjoy this month of December’s festivities, family times and feeling a bit nostalgic. I hope that everyone has some version of the Santa-spirit brightening up these long, dark nights of wintertime. Mine’ll be doing a fly-over in his Pitts! Happy Holiday Season to you all…