1950s Part 9: Santa

Dec 17, 1958, was when Santa Claus made his first appearance in the subtropical Taiwan:

The lone Santa in a pedicab attracted so much attention that a new group of Christmas shoppers suddenly emerged. No one knew who let loose this Santa sans reindeers. Regardless, he would soon become part of Taiwan pop culture, despite the fact that most houses were not equipped with a fireplace, let alone a chimney. Cut-out cardboard pictures of Santa together with poinsettia plants would proliferate, popped up everywhere in December. And of course, no one knew why poinsettia was part of Christmas celebration.

Eventually, the Gov't in 1963, resurrected a disused holiday, National Constitution Day行憲紀念日, so that Dec 25 became a day off for all. That is until the year 2001 when public servants started enjoying a 5-day workweek and the extra holiday was called off, reserved only for Christians and private businesses.

[Photos from Taipeimarc]