Giving Santa the pink slip

Today's story is actually a follow-up to a previous story that we chose not to cover. After all, we pretty much figured that a large portion of the blogging world would end up covering (and mocking endlessly) the concept of Australian Santas being told to say "Ha ha ha" instead of "Ho ho ho", out of a fear of offending women (specifically those that might in some cases be referred to by such a two-word moniker). Well, the first fall-out from this ruling has happened, at least according to the Santa in question.

That's right. According to news coming out of Australia, a Santa in Canberra was fired, ostensibly for saying "Ho ho ho", and for singing Christmas carols to children. Understandably, the company that has let Santa go is claiming that it had more to do with the costumers attitude than his holiday spirit.

Still, the overall ruling, and the possibility that the man was later fired for doing what Santa has done for decades (if not longer) raises some interesting questions. After all, it's not like the slang for "whore" is a new word to anyone speaking English. And, well, if Santa isn't allowed to sing Christmas carols (a fair number of which mention him by name), then who on Earth is? It's not like we've got people lined up to dress like Jesus and sing "What Child is This?". And nobody makes figgy pudding anymore.

So, while we can't begin to determine the exact reasons behind this particular Santa being giving the old heave-ho (or would that be heave-ha now?), we can suggest that possibly restricting this Jolly Old Elf in such a way might be fairly nonsensical. After all, if you're worried about Santa Claus offending people, then maybe the first thing you should look at is the proliferation of his image starting around August. That's far more offensive than an off-key rendition of "Jolly Old St. Nick" or a couple of mentions of "ho".

Even with all of this, we're left with one final question. When Santa's fired, is it really more of a red slip?