Some people have a problem with Santa Larry (Picture: AP)

Larry Jefferson-Gamble has the snowy beard, the red velvet suit and, of course, the kindly attitude that defines Santa Claus.

Kids love him so much that the retired army veteran has been on the Santa scene for decades, handing out Christmas cheer.

He also happens to be black.

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For most people, that detail is irrelevant, unless it is to celebrate the fact that children of colour can visit a Father Christmas who looks like them.


But a small minority of people can’t deal with the possibility of a Santa whose skin colour is different to the typical St Nick portrayed in Christmas films.



Despite Larry being such a natural Santa he has played the role since he was 12 years old and handed out presents to his siblings, some people are always going to be racist.

Watching people meltdown over a Black Santa in the Mall of America. "Santa is white!" Well, in our internment camp he was Asian. So there. — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) December 3, 2016

So, depressingly, the CBS and the Star Tribune had to switch off comments on their stories about him becoming the first black Santa ever to be hired by the Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the states.

Given that the demand was so high to see him that his schedule was booked solid for all four days he appeared, you’d think the surprising part of the story was that it hasn’t happened earlier.

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But unfortunately some people couldn’t get their heads around the idea that Christmas is about love and giving, not about policing Santa’s melanin count.

We won’t detail the abuse here but suffice to say that this head-scratching comment was a baseline: ‘I don’t understand why Santa would be black. He is a white character.’

(Der, he’s a fictional character, who brings presents to children of all colours.)

Thankfully, the negativity was drowned out by all these people who pointed out how great Santa Larry is.

Amazing day at @mallofamerica capped by a visit with #SantaLarry, who is kind, engaging and thoughtful! ?? pic.twitter.com/iHyVN9eaJA — Sean Jensen (@seankjensen) December 4, 2016

I do not wanna be in the same room as the people who are offended by black santa when they find out that Jesus was a middle eastern refugee — Rochelle (@rochelleasquith) December 4, 2016

All the love and prayers go out to Larry Jefferson. Santa can be *anybody* y'all. https://t.co/UQJL8TjI58 — Caroling Along ?? (@SoCalRamen) December 2, 2016

The Mall of America has a black Santa and racists done lost their minds. #SantaLarry is awesome! He's also a vet and deserves respect! pic.twitter.com/Rss6RC5UZs — Mark Buchanan (@therealmarkb) December 4, 2016

Santa Larry himself is confused by the whole discussion.

‘Everyone’s making a big deal about this because I’m a black Santa. But gosh, I’m just Santa!’ he said.

‘One child said, ‘Santa, you’re brown,’ and I said, ‘Santa comes in many different colors.’

‘He said, ‘Oh,’ so I gave him a candy cane, he ran off with other kids.’