Santa and the crisis

Work for mom or dad. The money to pay the bills. Food or house. Maybe a pair of gloves and boots. More and more children asking Santa Claus for these things, rather than the usual toys. But Santa Claus was easier to fulfill those requests. With the constant rise of unemployment, deprivation of houses for debt and economic crisis, more and more children asking Santa Claus to solve their problems in the family. "These children understand the conditions and the situation, — says 69-year-old Richard Holden working Santa Claus in Gastonia, North Carolina. – If the family is not one child, the children understand that now they need to think about your brothers and sisters instead of asking for 10-12 toys for themselves."

(34 photos)

1. A diver dressed as Santa-Claus feeds sardines at the aquarium of Seoul. Christmas is one of the most popular festivals in South Korea, where more than half of the population are Christians. (AP / Lee Jin-man)

2. A man dressed as Santa Claus at the Christmas market in Königstein, Germany. (ZUMA24.com / Matthias Hiekel)

3. A demonstrator in a Santa suit before the police, in demonstrations against transport of nuclear waste in Metzingen, Germany. (ZUMA24.com / Julian Stratenschulte)

4. Santa Claus distributes candy to children in front of St. Peter's Church in lübeck, Germany. (ZUMA24.com / Bodo Marks)

5. Santa Claus and angels participate in the plenary session, organized by the students of centre of trade unions of Berlin. In the centre are available upon request Santa Claus for parties and events. (ZUMA24.com / Wolfgang Kumm)

6. Trader of balloons in a Santa suit at the Christmas market in Berlin. (AP / Markus Schreiber)

7. Students in the Santa costumes at the unemployment rate in Rostock, Germany. Many come to these centers in search of temporary jobs, for example, the work of Santa Claus. (AP / Frank Hormann)

8. Runners in Santa costumes in the third "race of the Santas" in Michendorf, Germany, which was attended by over 700 people. (ZUMA24.com / Bernd Settnik)

9. Santa Claus singing at a meeting in Berlin. (ZUMA24.com / Britta Pedersen)

10. Santa (right) receives the key to the city from Detroit mayor David Bing. (The Detroit News / Elizabeth Conley)

11. Guests welcome Santa Claus at the annual ceremony of lighting the Christmas tree in Roseburg, Oregon, USA. (The News-Review / Rob Mccallum)

12. Santa Claus on the moving scenery during the parade "Macy's" in Portland, Oregon. (The Oregonian / Benjamin Brink)

13. Entomologist Dave kavanaugh in a Santa suit holding a deer for miles on the roof of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The deer will be part of the celebrations of the Academy, which will run until January 16. The project "Living roof" is a city program that allows the public to learn more about the unique ecosystem of the roof, at the same time providing important information about many plants, birds and arthropods, which live on the area of 1 hectare. (AP / Jeff Chiu)

14. Three-year Danin Myers from California says Santa. The girl asked for for Christmas that anything in or associated with the series "Dasha-Pathfinder". (Mike Bolduc)

15. Santa and Mrs. Claus greet Santiago Hernandez (right), who with other members of the group "Mariachi Mexicanisimo" performed them in the shopping center "La Palmera" in Corpus Christi. (Corpus Christi Caller-Times / Michael Zamora)

16. Volunteers dressed as Santa going down Fifth Avenue in new York. The volunteers gathered in the busiest day of the year to raise funds for food for the poor. (AP / John Minchillo)

17. Volunteers in costume of Santa Claus waving to passers-by on Fifth Avenue in new York. (AP / John Minchillo)

18. Santa Claus parade in honor of thanksgiving in new York. (AP / John Minchillo)

19. The man dressed as Santa Claus check the vision of southern College of optometry in Memphis. After this check, he called for children who need a vision exam. Thus, the College hopes to show the importance of good vision in these young patients. (The Commercial Appeal / Karen Pulfer Focht)

20. Employees of the amusement Park "Everland" in Santa costumes with sheep in Yongin, South Korea. (AP / Ahn Young-joon)

21. About 200 volunteers in Santa costumes at the event for those who were born prematurely children in Seoul. (AP / Ahn Young-joon)

22. Klaus Krasilevsky in dressed as Santa Claus participates in the contest in jumping from the Board with a pirate ship in Key West, Florida. Contestants were evaluated on their jumping, the costumes, walking the plank and even spray. (Florida Keys News Bureau / Bert Budde)

23. A diver in Santa costume feeds a white shark in an aquarium in Yokohama. (AP / Itsuo Inouye)

23. Diver Henning may in the Santa hat in aquarium Stralsund, Germany. (ZUMA24.com / Stefan Sauer)

25. A diver in a Santa suit greets the audience during a show in Bangkok. (AP / Apichart Weerawong)

26. Children watch as diver in Santa costume feeds fish at the aquarium in Manila. (AP / Pat Roque)

27. Participants of the "Race of Santa Claus" in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal / John Locher)

28. Sharon Cole is sitting on the ground waiting for other participants in the mass race in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Review-Journal / John Locher)

29. 16-month-old Fenn Graham crying in the arms of Santa's at the Mall at green hills in Nashville, Tennessee. (The Tennessean / Jae S. Lee)

30. Champion three year old Bella kissing Santa in emerald Isle, North Carolina. When cliff Snyder (Santa pictured), who works as a Santa with the age of puberty, ask for something impossible, he usually says: "this year, too many people want this gift. What else do you want?". (AP / Tom Copeland)

31. Uriah Cole in a Santa suit rides his bike past the Playground of a kindergarten in East Alton, Illinois. (The Telegraph / Margie M. Barnes)

32. Santa Claus singing at a press conference with students in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Rachel Denny Clow)

33. Some of the 250 Santas participating in a charity event at a ski resort in Newry, Maine. To receive a ticket for a free climb to the top of the participant must be dressed in full costume of Santa Claus and donate at least $ 10. All funds went to the children from poor families. (AP / Robert F. Bukaty)

34. Santa Claus Gilbert Garcia (left) and his mother Aplanet Montoya came to the center of Mary Esther Gonzales in Santa Fe, new Mexico. (The Santa Fe New Mexican / Jane Phillips)