A New York man who plays Santa to spread joy to children and adults alike is having a bit of a blue Christmas this year.

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Rick Martinez of Weedsport, New York is a bit of a renaissance man. He has self published three children's books, has appeared as Captain Jack for over 15 years, and works closely with Literary Volunteers of Cayuga County. He has visited libraries across New York for summer reading programs.

Rick Martinez
Rick Martinez
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Recently, Martinez has been working to evolve his Santa character from Captain Jack, based loosely on the legend of Nick Klaus. He's writing a new book called "The Legend of Nick Klaus", tracing origins back to the Vikings. Martinez says that Odin, the Viking god of war and death was the first Santa, as he brought gifts to kids on the last night of Yule. He says his version is a bit Viking, and a bit St. Nicholas, and is not the typical Christmas card version.

Rick Martinez
Rick Martinez
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Recently, Martinez was contacted to book a gig this weekend for a family party, and everything was going well until they asked to see a picture of him dressed as Santa. Once received, the gang of grinches canceled on him.

Martinez had this to say about the episode:

I got a message from someone, asking if I would come on December 23rd to pass out gifts to the children at their family party.
I said sure and I gave them the cost for me to visit. They agreed to all of the terms. Then this person asks for a picture of me as "Santa". I sent the photo below. A few days pass and now they are canceling because I don't look like the traditional Santa.
I'm sorry but the real "traditional" Santa was a Viking God and the next in line was St. Nicholas who was Turkish, with olive skin.
So????
Sometimes in this day and age, you'd think there would be some forward-thinking but I guess not.
I'm no expert on Santa Claus, but I do know what's cool! The guy shows up in full regalia, complete with his own Christmas themed Viking longboat. How cool is that?
If you'd like to book Rick Martinez for an event, you can visit his website here.

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