Posted on: Saturday, March 12, 2005

EDITORIAL
Shaka Santa is not a man for all seasons

Our beloved Shaka Santa and his equally supersized wife have received an eviction order. The Manana warehouse where they live when they're not presiding over the Honolulu City Lights celebrations sits on land that is likely to be sold as part of a settlement with Kamehameha Schools.

The city wants to know if somebody can give Santa and Mrs. Claus a home — a pretty tall order when you consider these cement-covered Styrofoam sculptures are 21 feet tall, 15 feet wide and weigh nearly 4,000 pounds each.

If there are no offers, City Council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi suggests an intriguing alternative: Rename them Mr. and Mrs. Honolulu, display them year-round above Honolulu Hale's fountain and change their appearance with the season.

Or, the duo could reflect Hawai'i's mixed plate of holidays and traditions: Easter Bunny Santa, Kamehameha Day Santa, Fourth of July Santa, Labor Day Santa.

Or not.

But seriously, Shaka Santa and his bride's biggest fans are the children. Ten-year-old Joanna Gordon, a Koko Head fifth-grader, makes an annual Christmas pilgrimage across town to see Honolulu City Lights.

"The only reason it's a big attraction is because of Santa and Mrs. Claus," Gordon said. "It's a Christmas kind of thing. It wouldn't be special if it was all the time."

Who could argue with that? Surely someone out there can find our holiday regulars some new off-season digs.