Here it is again: the merry, festive Christmas season with its glitter balls, tinsel and the typical “Ho Ho Ho!” Holding onto his red belly, Santa grins and laughs at us from everywhere. Like Halloween pumpkins and clowns, Santa is one of our most popular cultural symbols associated with laughter. In fact, Father Christmas, clowns and demonic veggie visages have more in common than you might think! And our pop culture depictions of Santa’s laughter tell us a lot about the pitfalls and promises of humour, and the not obvious links between humour and laughter.
Santa’s laughter is often benign. In the 1970 fantasy musical Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, almost every one of the jolly gent’s good deeds is accompanied with laughter, be it distributing the toys to children in the unwelcoming Sombertown or melting the heart of the Winter Warlock. The laughter thus underscores the niceness of Santa’s activities and adds a cheerful element to the gloomy urban and forest landscapes. Santa’s laughter can also be used to improve the educational system on Mars in the 1964 film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
