Before Santa Claus, there was Abraham Claus.
Abraham Claus the forefather of all the Clauses wore a $10 Santa coat with a round patch with Hebrew letters on his right sleeve bicep and a blue Star of David sewn on the back. He had snap-on
peyos to complete the picture. This Semitic getup was the work of an Atlanta teen named Rick Rosenthal.
In the 1960s, he’d stop by the homes of his cheerleader friends and garland their trees with miniature bagels. It started as a joke and, decades later, became a calling.
Rosenthal, 68, now calls himself Santa Rick year-round. He’s also been a full-time Modern Orthodox Jew for over 30 years.
BBC News
By Silvia Martelli
image captionChildren show Santa their gift wish lists in Seattle
As the coronavirus rages in the US and health officials plead with Americans to stay home during the winter holidays, shopping malls are already hosting traditional visits with Santa Claus - except with festive new precautions in place.
Santa Claus will still fly his reindeer-driven sleigh from the North Pole to your local mall, say his metaphorical marketing elves, despite Covid-19 travel restrictions in place across the world.
But this year the iconic white beard might be more difficult for awestruck children to recognise behind a surgical mask or a plexiglass window.