Santa Claus and Santa Polk - Love and Christmas magic.

 

The Christmas season used to my my favourite. The parties and gatherings spread out over the month meant getting together with friends and family to spend a little time celebrating another year and looking forward to the next one. The last couple of years have taken a bit of a toll on my love for the holidays and I'll be honest, without my having the Polk persona to help lift me up, it would be likely no decorations, movies or Christmas music would be seen or heard in my home. It just isn't there anymore. Be it not having children, the unending struggle of keeping things going financially and feeling emotionally drained as our lives have changed so much in the last 6 years. There is little doubt that my path to Christmas is littered with self imposed obstacles to getting back to where I once was.

Enter Santa Polk, courtesy of my Aunt Karen and Uncle Tom.

  My beer advent calenders have helped to make the season a bit brighter and I have included myself in every holiday beer picture as kind of a 'proof of life' moment for myself. I'm still here, I'm still standing . The inclusion of the Santa suit, however, is a little more meaningful than most people know. It belonged to my late Uncle Tom, who played the most loving of Santa's you would ever know. Every year he would do events and malls, donating the proceeds to Camp Trillium, a camp for children with cancer to go to so they might enjoy some time in the great outdoors. He didn't so much play Santa as become him, embodying the role with a verve and gusto I would watch in amazement every year. We were close, I remember sitting with him the night before my wedding to Kat, quietly talking about life as the beer flowed, things like that stick with you a long time.

  After he passed away, my aunt Karen asked if I would like the suit, a symbol of something bigger than myself or the season to me. I was hesitant, but relented and hung it with care in the spare room until it finally became clear to me a use for this piece of magic. The Advent Calendar and my quasi fictional character of the Drunk Polkaroo come together each December to try and spark a little joy in a dark and dreary world. The suit has powers I cannot describe, but when I finally hit the halfway mark and don the jacket, beard and glasses, it starts to feel a little more festive, a little more love and a little more hope. I will never capture it completely, it hovers just ahead of me, but I feel the glow and love that it contains and feel peaceful and serene.

  This year I will be taking another step as I take Santa Polk out in public for the first time ever. I've always confined it to my house, pictures and videos, having a little fun and celebrating the memory of a good friend and mentor. When my friend Jeremy from Clifford Brewing here in Hamilton asked if I would be able to help raise some funds and gather toys for some kids who need a little help this year, I couldn't say no, despite that little voice inside that seems to win more times than not when it comes to doing anything other than work and sitting here at home. I felt something give me the strength to say yes and while I am filled with apprehension, the shoes I step into, literally, have been walked in by a legend in red.
  So this Saturday, December 14th at 4 p.m., I'm gonna take Santa Polk out to Clifford Brewing, give my Christmas blues the boot and take up the chair of Santa to try and bring some good to the world with a little laugh and a lot of leaning on the man who came before me. Join us if you can, an unwrapped, new toy gets you a free beer and a chance to take a pic with this jolly fat guy, bring your dogs, kids and friends and help spread the love a little further this year.
  Scared? Yeah, a little, but I think I have a secret weapon and Uncle Tom's legacy, memory and love of us and the season is very much alive every time I put on that suit of Santa Claus...because I knew the real one.

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

Polk