What’s happened to town’s ‘waving’ Santa?
CHRISTMAS is a time for joy, cheer and, if you’re from Pontypridd, “waving Santa”.
To some this may mean nothing but if you grew up in the Valleys town you will know that the Santa is as much a part of Christmas tradition as turkey and stuffing.
And this is largely due to what some people see as the similarity between his wave and... well, something else you might do with your hand. Some people wait to see him – and video him – every year.
You can usually find Santa on the side of Pontypridd Museum during the festive period.
But after the Christmas lights switchon took place earlier this month, many were left disappointed.
Santa could not be seen at his usual spot near the Old Bridge, and it begged the question: “Where is he?”
One upset fan, Sarah Adams-Greener, tweeted: “Very disappointed that Pontypridd’s iconic Santa is missing from this year!
“Please bring him back for his many fans or Christmas will have to be cancelled.”
But after a bit of research it’s been discovered that he’s not missing – he’s just been hiding on Taff Street.
This year he’s enjoying himself at the new location because there was a fear the Christmas lights would clash with the beautiful poppy display that was constructed at the museum for Remembrance Day.
A spokeswoman for Pontypridd Town Council said: “He is up – he’s opposite Boots. This year there was just a little bit of a discussion about the positioning of him.
“We had the lovely poppy display at the museum and we didn’t know if the display would still be there. We didn’t know if there would be a crossover with the Christmas lights.
“It would have been completely inappropriate to have had flashing Christmas lights adjacent to the display. Having said that, it was never on the agenda in particular – it was something that was mentioned about the Christmas lights generally.
“We would never get rid of him. It’s only a temporary move this year and he will be back in position next year. He is safe and well opposite Boots.”