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A photo collage showing Santa Claus traumatizing three generations of children has the internet in hysterics.
In a post shared to Reddit's Aww forum on November 28, user John Usher (u/upandattem) shared a photo collage of his wife, daughter and grandson as children sitting on Santa's lap.
Despite the images being taken years apart and featuring different Santas, the kid in every image reacted the same way—by screaming their head off.
Reddit users couldn't get enough of the snaps, with the post receiving over 87,000 upvotes and more than 1,000 comments.
Why Do We Take Kids to Sit on Santa's Lap?
Although Saint Nicholas, AKA "the real Santa Claus," lived in Turkey sometime between 220 and 343 A.D., the man in the red suit we all know is a more recent invention.
Santa Claus started to become popular in the U.S. in the late 1700s, due to Dutch settlers honoring the death of "Sinter Klaas" (a short version of Sint Nikolaas, the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas). Known as the protector of children and sailors, the original Saint Nick gave his inherited wealth to the needy, poor and sick, all while dressed in red.
In the 1820s, retailers started pushing the idea of "Christmas gifts," and Santa Claus was a popular marketing tool. The first department store Santa is believed to have been James Edgar. An entrepreneur from Brockton, Massachusetts, Edgar threw on a Santa suit one day in December 1890 to greet children in his store.
But where does the "Santa's lap" tradition come from? No one knows for sure, but the photo aspect supposedly began in Seattle in 1943 with a Santa "meet and greet" at the Frederick and Nelson department store. The trend has been popular now for almost 80 years—when Macy's held its first Kris Kringle event in 2017, parents had to make reservations for their children to sit on his lap, while official conventions for mall Santas have been running since 2006.
Nevertheless, a visit to Santa isn't always a joyful experience for children. Last year, a clip of two siblings freaking out while sitting with a mall Santa received over 14 million views on TikTok, sparking a debate about the tradition.
'I Can See the Family Resemblance'
Captioned "My wife, my daughter, and my grandson, sitting on Santa's lap...sixty years apart," the hilarious photos show history repeating itself through three generations.
The first photo of John's wife, Lynn, was taken in 1960, when she was 19 months old. The second, of the couple's daughter Marlena, was taken in 1989, when she was 15 months old, while their 19-month-old grandson Camden's Santa snap is brand new for 2022.
Lynn Usher swears the children in her family don't hate Santa Claus—despite what the images suggest.
Speaking of her daughter's and grandson's Santa Claus experiences, she told Newsweek: "I think the children were just at the age when they are afraid of most strangers.
"After initially being placed on his lap, they were happy... but once they turned and saw him, then they cried.
"After quickly taking a photo, they were removed from the Santa's lap and they stopped crying instantly."
However, John Usher said in the years that followed, their daughter had much more positive experiences with Santa.
"She always wanted to sit on his lap and never cried again," he told Newsweek.
Redditors couldn't get enough of the photos, with user followedbyferrets suggesting the couple "frame" them.
"So what you're saying is the fear of Santa is genetic," said Rolandscythe.
"I can see the family resemblance," commented Grouchy Old Boomer.
"The correct response to getting dumped onto a stranger's lap," wrote LittleBitOdd.
Users also had a lot of thoughts on the three Santas, with DrunkenOlympian writing: "Well the Santas have certainly gotten better!
"The first two look like they would rather be literally anywhere else. The third gets an A+!"
"The first Santa looks SO DONE," commented EVLokadottr.
"Santa No. 2 looks like a teenager," said MissGruntled.
While SummitCO83 wrote: "I love Santa with your grandson. The other two look like they have no will left to live in their eyes."
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more