A Santa figurine inside a Pennsylvania tobacco shop has been a little more naughty than nice this year.
Santa Claus smoking hookah
A northwestern Pennsylvania tobacco shop is turning the image of the jovial, pipe-smoking Santa on its head by having Saint Nick huff on a hookah.
Up In Smoke store manager Sue Stoyer says that customer reaction to the display has been mixed. But she notes that many early depictions of Santa Claus have him puffing on a pipe. She says that the famous poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” which refers to Santa smoking a pipe, inspired her.
Clement Moore’s “A Visit from St. Nicholas” includes a reference to the jolly old elf clenching a pipe in his teeth, with a ring of smoke around his head.
The tiny town’s holiday parade earlier this month made the window a source of both amusement and scorn. But Stoyer shrugs off any criticism. She says Santa’s history as a smoker is on the shop’s side.
