Santa's dining room has been prepared for the Noche Buena

It is that time of year again when fake Santas come out to ring in the joy of Christmas in malls and stores. Children also eagerly await the coming of the real Santa with his bag of presents. Nowadays, however, kids don’t need to wait for Christmas or Santa.  They can go see him at his house any time of the year.  And it’s not way up there on the North Pole; it’s just way up there in Antipolo.

The house is called Casa Santa, a museum dedicated to Santa Clause. The place is filled with the huge collection of a woman who likes to call herself Auntie Santa. She collects everything that carries the Santa theme and she’s exhibiting them in a house dedicated to her favorite Christmas symbol.

The original Santa, it is said, was St. Nicholas or St. Nick, patron saint of children. He was a 4th century Christian bishop of a Byzantine province in today’s Turkey. He loved children and brought them gifts on Christmas Eve. In many parts of northern Europe, Santa is still portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes.

Through time, Santa has been depicted in various ways from tall and gaunt, to wearing a Norse huntsman’s animal skin, and to being an elf himself. The modern Santa is a combination of all these depictions. His most enduring physical description, however, was created by the great American caricaturist Thomas Nast whose January 3, 1863 edition of Harper’s Weekly gave us the image of Santa Claus as we know him -- a jolly and plump white bearded man in a red coat with a white collar.

The image stuck and was further spread worldwide by Coca-Cola in its advertising every Christmas. And thanks to the overpowering invasion of television, the role of Nast has all but been eradicated. This year will mark the 78th anniversary of the Santa-Coke partnership which started in 1931 when he appeared in magazine print ads for the soft drink company.  We see the new Coke commercial already being aired on TV here and we’re left wondering who represents Santa as far as royalties are concerned.

Not a few decry what has evolved into a completely commercialized figure, mostly in North America.This has even spawned books on the dangers of propagating his existence. Does a threat really exist? When we outgrew the ritual of waiting for Santa, we didn’t feel any resentment towards our mother for this falsehood. Neither apparently does this lady whom everyone only knows as Auntie Santa, who has been running the year-round Casa Santa and keeping many children happy.

It was Aunti’s friend, the late artist Aleli Vengu, who influenced her to start the collection. She has traveled to 63 countries in search of Santas. She even found one in Buddhist Myanmar, a heavenly god dressed like Santa complete with cap and beard. Strangely enough, 60 her of her now “2513 and counting,” Santas were found in the Philippines, especially the large Santas which would have been very difficult to ship. The US is her next big source.

Rothenburg, Germany is Auntie’s favorite Santa shopping place. The walled medieval city with cobblestone streets hosts the German Christmas museum, operated by Kathe Wohlfahrt of the international chain of year-round Christmas Village shops. Auntie says she will soon try to make it to Rovaniemi, capital of the Finnish Lapland in the Artic Circle. This is the only official post office of Santa where postcards can be sent for this Christmas or even the next.

In her collecting binges, Auntie has gone from the cheapest P50 paper cut Santa bought in China in 1990 to her most expensive, a Swarovski purchased at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.  The collection is varied, from Santa blankets to life-size moving Mr. and Mrs Santas singing Christmas carols. We like the chessboard under the Santa on his sleigh mural by artist Alfred Galvez. There are other items especially made for the collection; the Bomb toy collectible head mounted on a sculptured brass body of Santa by artist Michael Cacnio. Auntie is now into Precious Moments porcelains and has also started collecting Christmas Villages.

Auntie estimates the entire collection to be worth P5 million. Yet even if Santa’s house and all its contents are insured, there is nothing that would sufficiently pay for the time and trouble of searching for every item. And because Santa’s house is open to everyone, especially children, there is no way anyone can completely monitor the whereabouts and activities of each and every kid on the floor.

There are house rules. Food and drinks, bulky containers, video cameras are not allowed inside Casa Santa. The Santas are very accessible so one cannot avoid damage and and even pilferage. Auntie Santa refuses to encase her Santas in glass which would project the feel of a traditional museum. Casa Santa is a museum, but it is also Santa’s house where he lives, eats, sleeps and entertains visitors with the help of Mrs. Santa.

We love the bedroom where Santa sleeps surrounded by all the Christmas trimmings. But where does Mrs. Santa sleep? And where were the children during our visit? Perhaps somewhere out in the vegetable garden learning all about the healthy ingredients of native vegetables from Santa’s gardeners.     

There are around 100 more Santas awaiting their special nook which Auntie promises will come in 2010. Obviously, the legend of Santa will evolve as the years go by. He will soon discard his reindeer coach, trade it for a space train. He may likewise go on a vegetarian diet to keep healthy for his yearly Christmas jaunts around the world. He might even schedule a stopover at Auntie Santa’s Casa Santa for a photo op and make the kids ecstatically happy!

Email the author at bibsycarballo@yahoo.com.