“Its Christ-mas”: Tim Allen’s ‘The Santa Clauses’ Embraces the Religious Elements of Christmas
‘Tis the season to be jolly…and also for angry people to fling tinsel at each other while arguing about coffee cup designs and proper seasonal greetings. The seasonal, often commercialized elements of Christmas and its religious foundation are often pitted against each other. Yet, according to Disney’s new six-episode miniseries The Santa Clauses, you can have your eggnog and drink it too.
The series is a continuation of the popular movie trilogy that began with The Santa Clause (1994) and ended with The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). Actor Tim Allen returns to one of his most iconic roles as Scott Calvin (aka Santa Claus). In an interview with The Wrap, Allen expressed his desire for the show not to shy away from explicitly Christian and religious elements:
“It originally had a lot of otherworldly characters, and ghosts, and goblins. I said no, this is Christ-mas. Its Christ-mas. It literally is a religious holiday…We don’t have to blow trumpets, but I do want you to acknowledge it. That’s what this is about. If you want to get into Santa Claus, you’re gonna have to go back to history, and it’s all about religion.”
While the show is obviously not without its share of flying sleds, magical reindeer, and toy-building elves, it seems as though it will save some room under the Christmas tree for some religious elements as well. The Santa Clauses is currently streaming on DisneyPlus, with the final episode airing on December 14th.
