You may have heard about the band of indignant citizens in Kensington, Maryland who, declaring Santa “offensive,” banished him from the town tree lighting ceremony.
Was it St. Nick’s smoking and eating habits that so offended them? Was it his incessant and annoying joviality? Those filthy, sooty clothes? Perhaps his fanatically judgemental attitude– you better be good, you better not pout, you better not cry– was more than the aggrieved could bear.
So Santa had to go, but not without opposition. An organization banded together known as “Yes, Kensington, There is a Santa Claus” which sparked a Santa-impersonating rally in support of the right jolly old elf. The result? The humiliated town of Kensington backed off and allowed Santa to participate, for this year, anyway.