New and Old #143
Friday roundup and commentary
Santa Claus, the Spirit of the Mall, Is Back, Bloomberg CityLab, Alexandra Lange, December 16, 2022
As Americans mark their return to in-person shopping this holiday season, they are also coming back to the mall, where Mariah Carey still reigns, giant baubles hang from the rafters, and Santa presides over his village. Santa, after all, is the spirit of the mall — a little bit nostalgic, a little bit exciting, and a whole lot commercial, with photo sessions starting (at least at the Grove) at $50 for the Holly Jolly package.
One of the most dispiriting things about the whole experience of the pandemic has been the feeling that simple things we never thought about just weren’t there when we returned to mostly normal life. So it’s quite nice to see that good old-fashioned commercialized Christmastime is still with us. I really mean that.
And this is nice too:
The number of Santas available dipped over the pandemic, but the North Pole is hiring again — like all service workers, Santas are in high demand (and need a raise) — and the business of making jolly has surged back to pre-pandemic levels. These days, diversity is increasingly valued: The Santa Experience at the Mall of America has six Santas, including the mall’s first Asian Claus and bilingual Santas who speak Spanish and Cantonese. MOA invited their first Black Santa in 2016 — Santa Larry, still at work — while Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, one of LA’s first shopping centers, hired a Black Santa back in 2004, a tradition that continues in 2022.
When we were kids it would never have occurred to us that Santa, even though we might not have believed it was him, was just another service worker. But, of course, he is, and it’s tough out there, holding a public-facing job in a stressful, fractious time. Read this pleasant article, and be kind to the folks who work these jobs.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Santa Claus, Law & Liberty, J. Furman Daniel III, December 22, 2023
This is a charming little essay depicting the Santa Claus myth as a Burkean tradition, something that is done for no particular discernible reason but which nonetheless holds value. And this, something I think about when I think about having kids:
I miss the simpler days when I believed in magic. I lost the simple joys of childhood and my sense of wonder. Lying to my kids about Santa helps me remember these little moments.
Meet The Birds Of The “Twelve Days Of Christmas”, Farmers’ Almanac, Melissa Mayntz, August 23, 2023
“Have you ever wondered why this Christmas carol specifically emphasizes birds as gifts?” Yes, I actually have. This is quite fun—there’s something really, really nice about reading useless information with no political or news content—and I’ll just quote this one neat bit of ornithology etymology:
The fourth day of Christmas still relates directly to birds with “four calling birds.” Some lyrics, however, use an older term, “colly” birds. While “calling” can refer to a variety of songbirds, “colly” is an Old English word for black or coal. Fortunately, both “calling” and “colly” can refer to the same bird—the Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula). A black thrush with a lovely voice (take a listen here), this bird perfectly suits the song and is a melodious gift to share.
Lunch like a lawmaker, Style Weekly, Wyatt Gordon, December 21, 2023
Folks have largely missed the gamechanger to the downtown dining scene that the building’s café represents. Need one say more than “the only publicly-owned pizza oven in Virginia?”…
Folks familiar with Meriwether’s earlier outposts in the Truist building or the kiosk in the Capitol are likely to be blown away by the elegance of the space, the variety of the offerings, and the affordability of the food. Since the General Assembly Building is home to the offices of the commonwealth’s 140 delegates and senators, one must go through a metal detector to access the ground floor café.
Spread across an elegantly neoclassical caféteria are 21 tables of varying sizes with views of the Capitol and its grounds, a statue of George Washington, and a sliver of the skyline. Customers can place mobile orders for pickup, request their food and drinks via five kiosks in the caféteria, or order directly from the staff manning the half dozen stations.
Now that pulls together a lot of interesting threads. Unfortunately it’s three hours away from me!
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