Saif loves Santa

The narrative for Christmas is filled with a host of inspiring and lovable icons. From the religious (Mother Mary and the infant Jesus) to the cultural (Santa Claus) and literary (the Grinch), our experiences of the festival are entwined with its icons and everyone has a favourite or two from the pantheon.
Not surprisingly, Santa Claus is the most important figure from the Christmas narrative for the people we spoke to. Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan is among those for whom Christmas is all about the jolly presence of Santa. "I remember as a child, I'd keep waiting for him to climb down the chimney'," recounts Saif with a laugh. "I guess what I loved best about him is that he looks like such a happy fellow."
Actor Sharman Joshi also counts himself among the Santa fan club, mainly because he considers him the embodiment of "joy, hope and fulfillment". Sharman says he was "completely heartbroken" when told that Santa doesn't exist, and adds, "but I hung on to my belief as I like to look at things in an optimistic way".
Actress Zarine Khan shared a rather "personal connection" with Santa growing up. "I was a very fat kid in school, so until I reached Class 10, I was made to dress up as Santa for every Christmas party. It made me super happy!" she says. For actress Raima Sen, it is the infant Jesus who is the most important figure connected to the festival. "Christmas is a celebration of his birth, and I believe very firmly in Jesus," explains Raima. "Of course as children, we loved Santa, we'd write long letters to him and our dad would send us back printed replies because he didn't want us to know that Santa doesn't exist. He kept the magic alive for us for a long time."
If Santa has his share of fans, so do his super helpers and his reindeers! Aditya Narayan, playback singer, tells us that tales of Santa and his gifts were de rigueur on Christmas Day. "And that sleigh is super cool too!" Aditya says. And for Sanam Puri of the SQS Project, it's the reindeers who pull Santa's sleigh " and most importantly among them, Rudolph. "I'm an animal lover, so Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is my favourite! I love decorating my house with a reindeer motif during the festival, and as a singer, you can guess what my favourite Christmas carol is " it's Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer." With Jingle Bells as his favourite carol, it's easy enough to deduce that TV actor Mohammad Nazim also loves Santa's sleigh and the reindeer that pull it. "For me, Mother Mary's divinity and purity is marvellous," he adds, on a more thoughtful note."
Stand-up comedian Abhish Mathew feels the mystery surrounding the Three Wise Men makes them the most interesting figures from the Christmas narrative. "They're like the new-age super heroes. They, come, they conquer and they leave. They do their bit of good and disappear... no one knows where they came from and where they went," Abhish says.