Santa’s bad hair day: Suroto takes off his white wig after entertaining children at a Jakarta mall on Wednesday. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama
Suroto, 42, formerly worked as a motorcycle taxi driver. However, on Tuesday, he found another job.
It was a time for him to transform himself. Suroto added a ring of foam around his already tubby tummy. He then dressed in a white-cuffed red trouser suit with a black-leather belt and red coat, and topped it off with a white-collar and cuffs.
His short black hair was covered by a long curly white wig and a pointed red hat trimmed in white fur. A white mustache, a long beard and eyeglasses completed the Santa transformation.
Along with a Christmas song, he ventured out shaking his tubby tummy and ringing a big bell for the awaiting children.
“Santa! Santa Claus,” screamed the children.
Children accompanied by their parents gathered to shake hands and take pictures with him.
Suroto is one of the hundreds working as Santa during December and January.
Suroto formerly worked as a part-time clown in Sanggar Pak Peyang, a clown group. He has performed as Santa Claus for the last six years.
Suroto, a Muslim, said he used to wonder whether it was halal for him to work as a Christian character.
“I even asked a religious leader in my neighborhood and he said it was okay because I was only looking for an honest earning,” he said.
“Also, I really enjoy entertaining the children. Surely, making people happy is in compliance with my religion,” he said.
Jeroen E. Lezer, another Santa Claus performer, said that seeing happiness in the children’s eyes was his main reason for taking the job.
“Their smiles are very magical,” said Jeroen who had performed as Santa since 1989.
“When I was a child, I believed there really was a Santa Claus. Now, I no longer believe he is real.
However, I think it is good for children to believe in him. It gives them the chance to celebrate Christmas in a special way,” he said.
Lezer, who owns a production house, said that he also really enjoyed helping parents give advice to children when he acted as Santa.
“It’s great to act as Father Christmas because he symbolizes happiness, joy and peace,” he said.
Rida Kusrida, the Ciputra Mall’s public relations officer, said the Santa Claus character had been very helpful to parents who wanted encourage moral values in their children.
“Such as be a good kid, obey your parents, be kind to everybody and other good advice,” he said.
He added that both Christian and non-Christian families seemed to like Santa Claus.
Rida said the mall had checked the background of men working as Santa Claus. Mostly the men work in clown groups scattered around the city.
“The men who performed as Santa Claus must have tubby tummies and friendly gestures,” she said.
Selvi Kristiana, an employee from Sanggar Modern, a clown group in East Jakarta, said that good manners were even more important than physical appearance for the Santa Claus performers.
“In my company, most of the performers are blue-collar workers who moonlight. Due to this job, they have access to malls, schools, and private houses. If they do not have good manners or even take items from these places, the group reputation will be tarnished,” she said.
Selvi said that to check the performers’ manners, his company often sent someone to watch their shows.
“If the performers have bad manners, we no longer allow them to perform for us,” she said. (mrs)
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