Hi, gnu. I'm intrigued by your observation that Santa had red-checked pants on. When I worked in a fabric store, I tried to convince customers that Santa costumes did not have to look exactly like the Santa in the Coke ads, but I was wasting my breath. They wanted the red jacket, the red pants, the black belt, the white trim...

Maybe there are regulations for Santa's suit, just as there are for his sleigh. If so, Santa was in mufti the day you saw him.

This is true: One day I read a book about the folkore of today's children. This gist was that today's (American) children feel affection for the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny, even though most of them know they are not real. But they are intimidated by Santa. Santa is too big, too male, too hairy and has too much power.

From what gnu reports, the kids are spot on.