This episode of Christmas past discusses Santa Claus in a way that younger listeners just wouldn't appreciate.

So grown-ups, please enjoy this one on your own, and thanks.

I'm looking at an old photograph, the square kind with the rounded edges and that linen texture finish and the dull orangey and red sheen on all photos from the 1970s. In the picture is Santa Claus sitting on a throne-like chair,

twinkling lights and light up candy cane pulls in the background periphery,

and sitting in his lap, a boy of about two or three,

in a puffy blue winter jacket and mittens dangling from the sleeves by a tether,

and on his face a look of utter pain and anguish.

The photo apparently snapped mid-scream. That child was me, sitting on Santa's lap at a

department store in Brockton, Massachusetts, and following in that grand tradition of waiting

in line to sit on Santa's lap and then

freaking the heck out when the moment of truth arrived. But more than that, taking part in a

tradition that traces back to that very city of Brockton, Massachusetts. Famously, the home of

boxing grates like Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, the first electrically operated fire station in the country,

and in 1890 at Edgar's department store, the first ever department store Santa Claus.

Nowadays, in shopping malls and department stores and stores of all kind all across the country,

children can line up for a chance to sit in Santa's lap, tell him what they want to and department stores and stores of all kind all across the country,

children can line up for a chance to sit in Santa's lap,

tell him what they want for Christmas,

and have a photo taken of the man himself.

It's such a common sight and a rite of passage for anyone who grew up celebrating Christmas

that it's almost hard to imagine there was ever a time without it.

But this is more than just

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