Santas warned 'ho ho ho' offensive to women
Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.
Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.
One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho ho ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute.
"Gimme a break," said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.
"We are talking about little kids who do not understand that "ho, ho, ho" has any other connotation and nor should they," she told the Telegraph.
"Leave Santa alone."
A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was "misleading" to say the company had banned Santa's traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.
Laughing Santa gets the old heave ho ho ho
Wed Dec 5, 9:15 AM ET
A Santa in an Australian department store said on Wednesday he has been fired for saying "ho ho ho" and singing Christmas songs to children.
Employment company Westaff, which supplies stores with red-robed, white-bearded Father Christmases, had earlier asked its Santas to say "ha ha ha" because the word "ho," which is American slang for *****, could offend women, media reported.
In the latest incident, the Cairns Post newspaper said 70-year-old John Oakes was fired on Monday for saying "ho ho ho" and for singing the Christmas song Jingle Bells.
"They're trying to kill the spirit of Christmas," said Oakes, a retired entertainer who has been a Santa for three years.
Westaff spokesman Bert Jansz told the paper Oakes had been dismissed because of his attitude, and not for his ho ho ho-ing.