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Santa Begins Using Sign Language, Shocks Hearing-Impaired Children

MacArthur Center held a special meet-and-greet event with Santa on Tuesday.

NORFOLK, Va. — Christmas is more than a month away, but already, Santa Claus has already made his way into town.

On Tuesday, there was a special meet-and-greet event at Norfolk’s MacArthur center. It wasn’t your typical picture with Santa, this was unique. The entire day was dedicated to hearing-impaired children.

What made it unique was that Santa was communicating with them using sign language.

The interactions were so powerful, people like Mike Mason couldn’t help but stop and watch. Mason had never seen anything like it before.

“I kind of slowed down to look at Santa. As soon as I realized that the kids were signing and he was signing back to them, coming to see Santa is special to start with but this… this is just unbelievable,” said Mason.

The children approached Santa Claus with a hug and their Christmas wishes. When they saw Santa sign back, their eyes lit up.

All of the bystanders watching were blown away too.

“This has made… not my day, not my week, it's made my month! It's made more than that,” said Mason. "The look on the kids' faces, seeing Santa sometimes is pure fear, but not these kids. These kids are just excited!”

The event, held for an entire day every year, is about inclusivity. One by one, every child had the opportunity to experience a holiday tradition. A joy felt by everyone, no matter the language.

“This is your Christmas spirit here,” said Mason. “This is Santa for everybody!”

'Signing Santa' was at MacArthur Center all of Tuesday, until 9 p.m.

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