Welcome to the world of Santas

Saint Nick isn’t the only whitebearded man gearing up for the holidays.

Across Canada, hundreds of professional Santas don the big red suit at malls, parties and private houses - inhabiting not only the clothes but the mystique of the magical man who delivers gifts to many millions of children around the world in a single night.

The appropriately named Ted Carroll, a Santa-for-hire based out of Halifax, says nothing beats seeing the smile on children’s faces when they see the man of the month on their doorstep.

“I’ve had kids pee themselves, I’ve had one kid say profanely, ‘Holy beep, it’s Santa Claus!’” said Carroll, 53, during a phone interview from his home in Halifax. “This stuff, if it doesn’t warm your heart or make you laugh, something’s wrong.”

While Santa is traditionally a Christian figure, Toronto professional Santa Kerry Burns said he’s been embraced by people from all sorts of different religious backgrounds, adding that the magic of Santa “transcends all sorts of different cultures.”

“I get to learn more about life by playing Santa than anything else, because you see people from all different walks of life,” said Burns, 56. “I get to see people every age, every nationality ... all the externals disappear, and there’s just love in that moment.”

Burns, who’s been performing as a Santa for the past 15 years both in Toronto and his hometown of Halifax, said a good Santa needs to have three qualities: “You have to have the ho-ho-ho, you have to have the look, and you have to have the heart.” The “heart” aspect is what matters most to Rozmin Watson, the “North Pole operations manager” with Hire A Santa.

The British Columbia-based company matches up eligible Santas with people holding parties and events. The company works with more than 100 Santas from across the country. It also holds a one-day “North Pole Santa School” program each fall to help aspiring Santas get off the ground - without the help of a magic sleigh.

While looking the part is important, Watson said what really makes a good Santa is how passionate he is about his job.

“A lot of people say, ‘We want a real bearded Santa versus a designer bearded Santa,”‘ she said.

“But it’s not about their beards. It’s about what’s in their heart.”

For Carroll, it’s something of a family tradition: Carroll’s late father, who was a volunteer deputy fire chief in the Halifax-area community of Rockingham, used to perform as Santa during Christmas parties at the fire department and around the region.