European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 27, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 16 the stars and stripes wednesday november 27, 1985 the search for interested applicants must have the spirit of Christmas and be Jolly by Henry David Rosso United press International a California firm takes san applicants who Are jews and minorities but a Washington .,, now Ornen " these men and sometimes women Young and old will go through a yearly metamorphosis and spend hours sitting in department stores or shopping mall thoroughfares listening to the dreams and wishes of Young children. A National temporary services organization said Santa salaries vary across the nation but generally equal that of a highly skilled Secretary. In the major american cities santas earn Between $7 and $10anhour." Santa Claus also will be on the Telephone when residents of More than ?00 Long term care facilities across the nation begin taking phone Calls from children with the special Christmas requests. The hoho hot line is celebrating its fifth year As a nationwide phone in program to Santa and mrs. Claus. The program is sponsored by Hill Haven corp. A Tacoma Wash. Elderly housing company. The hot line is staffed by Volunteer residents who answer special Telephone lines set up in each of Hill Haven s participating facilities. L ast year the residents received an estimated 750.000 Calls from children. As Lor the regular santas department stores generally have their own but in shopping mall Public areas the santas Are becoming a for profit operation. The kids get to talk to Sante for free but the photo studios who organize Tlle operations charge for a picture of the child with or. Claus. Jane Strong of Rich studios in a Maryland suburb of Washington says she tries to put four santas in each shopping mall in the area. It gives us Good coverage for the mall and protects us from illness and people with other said Strong whose studio takes the pictures of the children sitting on Santa s Lap. She my the looks Lor Santa candidates who Are very very fond of people children especially " some of the children Are annual repeaters Loo she said. We had one girl who said her Mother has had a picture done of her with Santa every year for 15 years. This year she is coming to work with Santa As one of his Robbie Snow who screens santas Tor the Woodward and Lothrop stores in the Washington Baltimore area said she asks applicants " do you like children things like that to get a feel whether they would be a Good representative of Santa. They have to be Jolly have to be Able to talk to the kids. Santa Claus can be kind of she said some children come up and say you re really not Santa Claus but younger children really want to Snow said Sanifas go through a training session and Are coached on what to say. One Rule of thumb is not to Promise anything. We had a Little girl Tell Santa All i want Lor Christmas is for Rny dad to be out of jail " Peggy Burkard. Who hires santas in Springfield a. Said Santa definitely must be a Man. I be heard these horror stories when they have females Burkard said. The children get very she said one year a male Santa was delayed in traffic leaving a Long line of children waiting. We finally put in one of the Lemale photo assistants who tried to pull it off As a Man. With no makeup and no stuffing in her costume she could not hide the fact she was a female Burkard said. We ended up walking Down the mall and approached a gentleman who was gracious enough to do thl re Macy t and Emporium Cap Wells stores in California hire santas through Western temporary services a Santa Muff by by fond of Poolt zip tally children. Nationwide operation based in Walnut Creek. Calif., that runs yes Santa graduates include women orthodox jews and minorities said Susan Sullivan a spokesman for Western temporary. Interested applicants must have the spirit of Christmas and be Jolly Sullivan said. It s a very serious business. It s a lot of hard work being a Santa Sullivan said Santa University was established in 1968, is free and produces about 125 graduates each year. Prospective santas Are closely examined before being accepted to a four hour training program that ends in a multiple Choice examination. During the training pupils learn about costume makeup and Santa Dos and Don to. The lop 50 graduates Are presented a Golden Tassel Lor their Santa Caps during ceremonies at the Hyatt Regency hotel in san Francisco. A spokesman for Macy s California said Santa was to be in the store from nov. 29 to . 24 in a bavarian style Ann Slock with Bloomingdale s in the Washington Area said the stores in malls leave the santas to the malls and provide other entertainment such As mimes puppets singers mechanized displays and clowns having their own santas in the store would Only confuse the children she said. The kids Are out in the mall and they come Inlo the store and say Wall a minute. Did t i just see Santa Claus in the mall " holidays not always a time of happiness by William h. Inman United press International t o Many holidays Are a time of cheer an song Cheek pinching relatives and heaping platters of to some they re a time of gut wrenching stress Blue moods and bleaker thoughts thoughts tending toward death. Therapists have a name Lor the phenomenon the Black blues an expression Lor the mild depression that festers into a suicidal obsession during the holidays. There s no clinical evidence of this but Many feel the blues hit hardest during the period strangely when most people seem the happiest said or. John Rush head of the effective disorders unit at the University of Texas health science Center in Dallas. It s a study in irony and Why do so Many get so Low getting together As a family reminds some people of their fundamental Rush said. It they Are suffering a mild depression a bit in the dumps the gatherings just make things worse. They think about the marriage destroyed or the person who passed Many people use holidays to Mark the time the passing of a year. So hey think about their mortality and aging. Their thoughts turn to getting older and less physically attractive. They compare themselves with where they were a year ago and sometimes eel they Are worse Oil. They think about aggravating the pain is the Joy making All around. There is a great mismatch Between what they see and what they feel. Despite the crowd they feel More isolated than Ever. They feel alone and want to Many families do not re unite Well despite Bonds of love. Everybody wants his or her Home to be like the Waltons three generations living under a single Root Happy and Hearty. Well in the real world this just in t so. Grandpa is Grumpy and the kids Are screaming. Families Are families. They Lead. And tensions a Tail tincture Lor the picture of Holiday blues is the feeling that everything has to be done at once. There Are obligations commitments More so than a any other time of year. Some people go into frenetic activity Rushing around buying presents and picking up people at the Airport. It adds up to a How to Cope experts recommend the following Steps Pace yourself. Be realistic about what you can do and when you can do it organize your time. Make Clear to visiting relatives that they should come and go at a specific time. Open ended visits often end in bitter family arguments. Don t drink a lot. Excessive alcohol increases the risk Factor leading to suicide. People drink to feel better but once drunk lose control of events and sometimes Icse the Good sense that keeps them alive. Devote some time to yourself. Don t spend All your time providing activities Lor your relatives. You need attention too. Holidays Are Long periods of time. People who try to do everything for everybody else end up doing nothing for themselves. Although reports of suicidal activity surge from the period spanning thanksgiving to new year s Day actual fatalities come weeks later. According to Kiln local data most suicides take place in the mid fall and mid Spring months. Nobody s certain Why but there Are some curious theories. One of them is that the human body unconsciously picks up the changes in Light and darkness during those periods and the psyche is rattled suicide results. The mind is still a great Rush said the More we study in some ways the less we
