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Fast Facts:
Where: Canton, GA
When: Late November - Christmas Eve
What:Santa Claus in a unique setting (not a mall)
Ssh! Don't tell anybody this secret. Santa Claus lives in North Georgia. Really!
Santa and Mrs. Claus ready to greet visitors
The appalling increase in commercialism of Christmas (no X-mas here) leaves one wondering what's next. Merchants have pushed the start of the Christmas season, which traditionally began on Thanksgiving when I was a boy, back to Halloween. Ads aimed at children blare across our TV screens. And in the mall Santa Claus is little more than a business venture aimed at both kids and their folks. So one day during the winter of 2001 we were driving down a back road in Cherokee County and discovered Santa Claus. Not your run of the mill commercial Santa, but the real thing!
Outside the home (yes, its his and Mrs. Claus' home) are brightly decorated ornaments of Christmas. A parking area and a small sign welcome visitors to the home, in a residential section of south Canton. Once inside, however, visitors are magically transported to an elegant festival filled with the symbols of Christmas, plus Santa, complete with long white hair, a flowing white beard, the traditional white-trimmed red outfit and cap with an oversized black belt, and he's there for one reason only - to meet your kids.
Gentle and kind, Santa warmly greets the folks and kids who come to visit with Mrs. Claus by his side. Kids enjoy sitting in Santa's lap while Mom and Dad enjoy a journey back in time to the Christmas they remember. A large Christmas tree, lit and decorated, welcomes the visitors to Santa's home while Santas of all shapes and sizes adorn the walls. This is a north Georgia Christmas at its best!
A brief history of Santa Claus
It was "Twas' the Night Before Christmas" that introduced American children to Santa Claus. Although works before that time talked about the jolly old fellow, it was Clement Clark Moore's poem where Santa's reindeer were named and the traditional method of entering houses (through the chimney) was established.
Santa Claus as drawn by
Thomas Nast put a face to Moore's Santa with a series of illustrations from the 1860's on, which appeared in the popular news magazine, Harper's Weekly. He exhibited the large belly, but not the traditional dress (and colors) of modern Santa Claus. That came courtesy of the Coca-Cola Company with a series of Christmas ads that it began to run in 1931. The ads put Santa, dressed in a red and white outfit, in a situation where he had a Coke in his hand or one was nearby.
Santa is added to Christmas music
As Santa became part of the Christmas tradition contemporary Christmas music mentioned the jolly old fellow. Although the 1941 Irving Berlin hit White Christmas didn't, Gene Autry's 1947 song Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer did, and it added a new reindeer to Christmas folklore. A year later Autry made the kids happy again with Here Comes Santa Claus. Later the Beach Boys recorded Little St. Nick and in 1977 Randy Brooks mainstreamed Santa by adding his own "silly song," Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.
Meanwhile, back in Georgia
After the kids have visited the jolly old man himself, telling Santa what they want for Christmas, everybody will enjoy a tour of Mrs. and Mr. Claus' home. From aA extensive electric train set (complete with running water and a scenic waterfall) surrounded by one of those "Christmas" villages to various trees and decorations, the home is a spectacle to behold. There is Santa's dinner table, brightly set and ready to serve, and a colorful canning closet holding all those wonderful fruits and vegetables that Santa and Mrs. Claus eat during the cold winter. Even the bedrooms are decorated in the spirit of Christmas.
For Moms and Dads:
North Georgia's Santa Claus begins work on Thanksgiving and continues through Christmas Eve. You can visit Santa and Ms. Claus at 6951 Vaughn Drive, Canton, Georgia, 30188. From Thanksgiving to Christmas Santa visits with the kids on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. On the final week before Christmas Santa takes his place on his new red velvet chair every night. Questions? Call Santa's helpers, Ronnie and Betty Page at 770.345.6314.
County: Cherokee County
Santa Claus, Canton, Georgia
Directions
To visit North Georgia's Santa Claus: From Atlanta: Take GA 400 north to Exit 7b. This comes out on Holcomb Bridge Road going west. Continue on Holcomb Bridge Road (it becomes Crossville Rd after 1.5 miles) to Crabapple Road (2.7 miles). Turn right (north) on Crabapple and continue for 2.5 miles to Arnold Mill Rd. (Highway 140). Turn left and continue for 7.1 miles to Foster Rd. Turn left. Foster Road dead-ends into Vaughn Road. Turn left. Santa's house is on the right just past Sequoyah Park.
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