The suit is red and white but the faces are changing: Push is on for more diverse Santas

Most people imagine Santa Claus in the same, time-honored fashion: kindly, elderly, with a bulging tummy, a scarlet suit, a heaping of silver hair – and white.

But in an increasingly diverse America, the iconic sleigh-rider spreading Christmas cheer throughout the land could also be Black, Hispanic, Asian or even Jewish.

"Santa Larry" Jefferson of Dallas often finds himself correcting the people who spy him creating holiday magic and excitedly exclaim, "There's Black Santa!"

"Santa doesn't have a color," Jefferson insists. "Santa's just Santa."

Jefferson, who says he's in his 50s (though Santa, of course, is timeless) got his start as a Santa performer in 1999. His nephews had missed out on a chance to go to the mall to see the Great Gift-giver. So he donned the red suit himself.

He was so convincing, his nephews didn't recognize their own uncle, he chuckled in an interview this week, a deep Santa laugh reverberating from his belly.

Jefferson did a few volunteer Santa jobs in town after that, and people were charmed. "You should do this full time," they said.

In the years since, he's been hired for gigs around the country at sites as prestigious as Neiman Marcus, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and the Mall of America in Minnesota, where he was the shopping center's first African-American Santa.

Occasionally, he said, he faces pushback from people not quite ready for a nontraditional Santa. But when he encounters hateful words, he just rumbles a hearty "ho ho ho" and goes about his job.

Jefferson's home is decked out with holiday decorations year-round, with 12 Christmas trees in various rooms. "I always loved Christmas," he said.

"When children see me, they just light up."

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Booking agencies have reported a Santa shortage this year, fueled by COVID health fears and a wave of retirements. The shortfall has been even more extreme among diverse performers, said Mitch Allen, founder and CEO of HireSanta.com, a Texas-based company that connects St. Nicks with customers around the country.

Although the business has become more racially and ethnically diverse, the number of Santas of color haven't been growing quickly enough, he said. HireSanta has been trying to recruit a more representative array of Santas, and more who speak Spanish.

"For every 500 traditional Santas, we only have one diverse Santa," said Allen. "We've had locations that specifically ask for a Black Santa," he said.

Jolly and Jewish

Rick Rosenthal and his wife Tracy, who are Orthodox Jews, opened the Northern Lights Santa Academy about five years ago in Atlanta. It gained such notoriety, it was featured in a documentary last year, "Santa School."

An increasing number of Rosenthal's students come from diverse backgrounds, and more are learning sign language and how to entertain children who have special needs, he said. A surprising number are also Reform Jews, he added.

Now 69, Rosenthal started working as a Santa as a teenager. His passion for the role is difficult to put into words, he said.

But he sees no conflict between his Orthodox Judaism and his devotion to Santa-hood.

"Every religion wants you to make the world a better place," he said. "Being Santa is a personification of that. Judaism says you should be a shining light to the other nations. What's there not to love about Santa? He's loving and non-judgmental. If you rob a bank, Santa will visit you in jail."

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Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, an Orthodox rabbi in Scottsdale, Arizona, dressed up as Father Christmas last year so his two foster children, who come from a Christian home, wouldn't miss out on the experience, he said.

"They were overwhelmed and excited," Yanklowitz recalled, adding the kids didn't recognize him under the suit and fake beard.

While some Jews might be disconcerted by the sight of one of their spiritual leaders dressed up as a symbol of Christmas, he doesn't see a contradiction. Yanklowitz said providing comfort to the youngsters was a mitzvah – in Hebrew, "a good deed."

Many who heard what he did were "touched by this gesture to lift up the spirits of our foster children at such an emotionally raw time of year."

Stafford Braxton founded North Carolina-based Just Like Me Staffing in 2013 to provide Santas of color for a growing audience. "For too long, minorities have been left out," he said. "We want to be included too."

"Parents are the most enthusiastic because they are happy to be able to provide their child with a Santa that looks like them."

Even children at a young age notice the difference, he added. Although his business consists primarily of Black Santas, he's trying to branch out to include Santas from other cultural backgrounds and those who speak languages other than English in an effort to make Christmas more inclusive.

"Sometimes kids see the Black Santa and say `That's not the real Santa!'' he said. "That's because they've been inundated for so long with images of white Santas.

"There's an importance in people seeing themselves represented."

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

Twitter: @deenayellin

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Santas of color becoming more common in more diverse U.S.