Q&A | Yes, Virginia, There Is a Jewish Santa Claus

Eric Epstein did his graduate study in higher education administration at Columbia University in the early 1980s and later ran his own photography business in Plano, TX, for 25 years. These days you could say he’s got a brand new bag—and it’s filled with toys. In retirement, Epstein has been working as a professional Santa Claus, performing at schools, private parties, tree-lighting ceremonies and more. With a “degree in Santaology,” his skills include spreading joy and happiness, working with special needs children and adults, and utilizing Zoom and other apps to connect from the North Pole. I caught up with him recently to learn more about what it’s like to be Santa, and a Jewish one to boot.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I imagine you’re a busy man right now, so thanks for making the time to talk. Tell me about how you got into playing Santa.

So, an old friend, a fellow photographer who’d retired, told me he was performing as Santa Claus. And he said, “You know, your hair is white—see what happens if you grow out your beard. If it’s white, you’d make a really good Santa.” I said, “David, I’m Jewish. I can’t be a Santa, it’s sacrilegious!” And he said, “Nah, don’t worry, there are other Jewish Santas.” So I said, “Okay, you get me one Jewish Santa and prove it to my wife Ellen, and we’ll see what happens.” He gave me the name of a guy in Atlanta, Georgia, Rick Rosenthal, who’s an Orthodox Jew. Well, that just blew my wife away, and me as well. Not only is Rick a Santa, he runs a Santa school. So, I bought a decent Santa suit, and he hooked me up with an agent. That was eight years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since. And Rick and I are really good friends.

I was going to ask you about Rick Rosenthal, because if you Google “Jewish Santas,” he comes up. Did you train with him, and is the bachelor’s in Santaology a real thing?

Not with Rick, but I’m involved in several Santa groups here in Texas, and I’m a member of the Worldwide Santa Claus Network. It’s a year-round online school that does certification and offers Zoom meetings every week to discuss everything you could ever think of about performing as Santa, including all the questions you might get—from children and adults. 

The kids always ask, “Where are your reindeer?” And “How do you get into the house? Sometimes with the little ones, I have to take my gloves off, because they don’t see a person. They just see a thing. If I take the gloves off, then they see my hands, and they warm up a little bit. There are a lot of things that go into being Santa that people don’t really realize. 

Older kids will ask for video game systems and computers. Sometimes I’ll see the parent in the background nodding their head yes, indicating a computer is okay, or a Nintendo Switch is okay. But if they’re shaking their head to say that’s not something they can do, I’ll ask, “What else would you like?” Or I’ll say, “You know, I’m not sure if I can get that for you. I’ll do my best. But what other things would you like?” Sometimes they’ll respond, “I just want my mom to be happy.” And then I say, “Oh man, you are on the nice list!” And I give them a card that tells them they were caught being nice by Santa.

According to your LinkedIn profile, you’re a member of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas. Is there a big dividing line between real-bearded and “theatrically bearded” Santas?

You know, there really isn’t. Whether you have a real white beard, or bleach your beard, or if you have a prosthetic beard, that’s fine. It’s all about cheering up the kids.

Do they pull your beard? 

All the time. Especially the little ones. You get used to that.

What about the skeptical kids?

They’re usually at the age where an older brother or sister or someone at school has told them Santa isn’t real, that it’s Mom and Dad getting the gifts. With those kids, I say, “Well, why don’t you believe in me? I believe in you.” And if they say, “Kids at school told me that you’re not real,” I say, “Are you real? You’re standing here looking at me, and I’m talking to you, so we’re real.” And then I move on to “Tell me what you want for Christmas.”  

Other times you might get teenagers, and they don’t want to take the picture with their younger sibling, but Mom wants it. So I’ll go up to the kid and I’ll say, “Look, this is for your mom. Keep her happy. It’d be a good Christmas present from you to her.” And then they say “Okayyyy.”

I also visit kids at the hospital for free, that goes without saying. And I deal with special needs kids and with sensory sensitive kids and adults. I had a 30-year-old man who just loved Santa Claus sit with me. You just go with the flow, and listen to what they’re saying. You don’t treat them any differently than you would anybody else. 

These sound like basic best practices for treating people well and getting to the best of what relationships are. How does being Santa mix with your Jewishness or Jewish practice?

I had a Jewish girl at an event the other night. I was going around and asking the kids what they wanted for Christmas, and she said, “I don’t celebrate Christmas, I’m Jewish.” “Wonderful,” I said, and I sat down at her table and I started asking her about what kind of chanukiah she has and does she know when Hanukkah starts. And then I lifted up my beard, which I shouldn’t have, and I showed her my chai necklace. And then I brought my finger to my lips and said, “Sshh. This is just between you and me.”

I’ve had others tell me they’re Jewish, and I just talked to them about Hanukkah. “What do you think about Hanukkah? You know, it’s a minor holiday, not a major holiday, but there’s great food, like those potato latkes!” You know, stuff like that.

From a personal standpoint, this is the only job I’ve ever had where anyone you talk to is going to be happy. There are no complaints. There’s no, “You didn’t do it the way I wanted you to. Go redo it.” It’s just bringing joy to whoever it is. 

Is there kind of a brotherhood among Santas? Do you know other Jewish Santas besides Rick Rosenthal?

There is. And there are so many groups—not one specifically for Jewish Santas, but I’d guess there’s maybe 100 of us across the country. I don’t have the statistics on that. I know of at least two other Jewish Santas here in Dallas. One I met at a function raising money for the IDF.

Have you ever had any funny or awkward moments?

Several years ago, I worked a house party where a couple of women who’d had some drinks came up to me, and one of them said, “What I want for Christmas is you.” “Oh, you’re kidding,” I said, and she responded, “No, I want you for Christmas.” “Ok, you’re on a naughty list,” I said, adding, “Mrs. Claus wouldn’t like that.”

You’ve got to be careful, because you don’t want to put yourself in a predicament where someone can say you did this or you did that, you know. And in all the photos I take with people, I’m always sure to have both my hands either on someone’s shoulders or otherwise visible, say, on my lap. Because you don’t want anything to be potentially thought of as illicit.

People might assume that a professional Santa is mostly with kids, but it sounds like there’s a real range.

Oh, yes. A couple of events I’ve done this year were at restaurants that had a bar. The one thing I don’t allow is any kind of photograph with someone standing next to me who’s holding a drink. I do a lot of corporate events too. Last night, I went as a cowboy Santa. 

Because you’re in Texas?

It was a party at a building that houses several companies, and the theme was cowboy Santa. So, you know, I had my cowboy hat on. I had some green dungarees, cowboy boots and a vest and a white shirt and a bolo tie. I’ve got one next Friday at an Asian restaurant.

There’s so much demand, I can’t do all the events. I’ve had to turn some down, because I might only have an hour between them, and it takes a half hour to get from one place to the other without traffic. And then I’ve got to make sure I’m hydrated and I’m eating. You know, it’s tough to eat in an outfit like that, because if you drip something, you’re screwed. I’m retired, and this is what I do to bring in some extra income, but I want to make sure everybody has a good time, and if that means taking fewer gigs, that’s fine with me.

There’s also year-round requests. I do birthday parties, I did a bridal shower. The girl happened to be Jewish, but she was into Santa and Christmas gifts and all that kind of stuff. I don’t question, okay. It was at this local place called Half Price Books—she was into reading too. If somebody passed and they wanted me to go to the funeral because the person was into Santa and Christmas, I would consider it. 

There are some conservative Christians who feel that Santa shouldn’t be part of Christmas, that it diminishes the Christ story. Have you ever run into anything like that?

I have not. Some Santas incorporate the religion into their Santa portrayal. I stay as far away from that as possible. Santa Claus is basically a pagan ritual.

Some also say that non-Christians shouldn’t partake in Christmas celebrations. Taken to the extreme, you even have Christian nationalists accusing the Jewish songwriters who penned some of the most famous Christmas carols—the ones about Santa and jingle bells and chestnuts roasting on an open fire—of maliciously trying to remove Christ from the holiday. What’s your take on that?

Surely they’ve got better things to worry about. I mean, to me, it’s nonsense, but I’m old school. Songs are meant to bring joy, and the Torah says to do good for people. They happen to be criticizing certain songs because Jews wrote them, but you know, it’s people like Bing Crosby and Andy Williams singing. They’re not Jews. 

Is there a Santa experience that stands out in your memory as particularly special?

There was a Police Athletic League event for disadvantaged kids in a town west of Dallas. They told me there was a 12-year-old kid that was going to come up to the stage, I guess he was a little on the spectrum. His mom and dad couldn’t drive him back and forth to school so he had to bike wherever he went. He’d outgrown his bike and then it had broken down, and his parents didn’t have the money to buy a new one. The organization had a bike and a helmet for him, but he really believed in Santa, and so they wanted me to say that I’d brought the bike for him. He was like a younger kid, jumping up and down, because he actually got what he needed. That was one of the best ones I remember. Really moving.

So, has your wife embraced this role for you?

I’m not sure embrace is the word. She sees that I like to do it. And she helps me get my beard and my makeup ready. But as far as being a Mrs. Claus? No way, not gonna happen. She’s more concerned right now about donating to whoever’s helping Israel! 

What is your favorite thing about Christmas?

My favorite thing about Christmas is that Hanukkah is right there.

Well, this has been a lot of fun, Santa Eric. Thanks for talking with me.

Actually, I go by Great American Santa. That’s my website: greatamericansanta.com.

Oh, okay. Like “Make Santa Great Again”?

No, not make Santa great again. Santa’s already great!

Is there anything else you want to add? 

If you celebrate Hanukkah, I hope you have a marvelous Hanukkah. If you celebrate Christmas, enjoy your family and stay healthy. 

Top image: Eric Epstein aka Great American Santa. Courtesy of Eric Epstein.