Melbourne, Australia, too, might one day be labeled as the city of lost children. What is going on in Australia that could encourage images of wandering and lost children? Are the children in Australian schools deprived of lessons on how to read a map? Are tales of Hansel and Gretel now banned in Australia?
No, news reports from Australia have not produced evidence of failed map reading skills among the country’s youth. One can still find “Hansel and Gretel” in the fairytale books of Australia. Yet there is news out of Australia that could foretell of lost traditions, traditions that many associate with their childhood. This year the Santa’s in Australia’s stores have been asked not to say, “Ho, Ho, Ho.”
How are the numerous store Santas of Australia supposed to greet their young visitors? Are they supposed to say, “Howdy mate”? Are they supposed to accompany their greeting with a written warning about the dangers of reading maps? No, they have been told to say, “Ha, Ha, Ha.”
What is the reason for that strange order? The answer to that question reveals why a city in Australia might one day be categorized as the city of lost children. Australia seems intent on doing away with some of the innocence of youth.
Australian officials have decided that the word “Ho” sounds too much like the word “who.” They have decided that a Santa calling out “Ho, Ho, Ho” could offend some Australian females. That is why they have told the Santas of Australia to say “Ha, Ha, Ha.”
One can not accuse the officials of being uncaring. Still, one has pity for the parent who must explain to a young son or daughter why this year’s Santa uses a different greeting from last year’s Santa. How can a parent explain to a young child that adults are uncomfortable with the seemingly innocent greeting, “Ho, Ho, Ho”?
Maybe a parent would need to create a city of lost Santas. The parent might suggest, for instance, that more than one city of Santas exists at the North Pole. The parent might then say that Santas from a newly discovered city at the North Pole are visiting Australia this year. The parent could thus indicate that the new Santas used a different type of greeting.
Such an explanation, though a fabrication, would probably be better than an attempt to reveal the truth. Very small children do not need to learn the word “who.” They certainly do not need to know why adults are uncomfortable with that word. Such knowledge would no doubt put small children on a path away from the innocence of youth.
A child who had to learn at a very early age about unacceptable adult behavior might be in very much the same environment as a child who is marched into a town without children’s pleasures. Such a child would face the same bleak future as a youth forced to enter the city of lost children.