Black Santas debut at Disney for first time in parks’ history

For the first time in their 66-year existence, Walt Disney’s US theme parks are including a black Santa Claus at this year’s Christmas festivities.

The House of Mouse never officially announced the diversity-promoting policy. Rather, it came to light after a black Saint Nick was spotted attending meet-and-greets at both Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, CNN reported.

A Disney spokesperson told the network that the measure was meant to reflect the plethora of ways Father Christmas is represented in communities worldwide.

They also wanted a Kris Kringle who would embody the diversity of surrounding communities at both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort.

The new Santas sparked a Yuletidal wave of positive reactions on social media.

“I’m pretty sure I just caught the very first black Santa to ever be at Walt Disney World and I am seriously crying happy tears,” gushed one fan on Twitter.

Meanwhile, influencer Victoria Wade, who is black, tweeted, “Never in life did I think disney would actually put a black Santa in the parks,” adding that she “legit cried because it means so much to me to be able to see Santa and have him look like me.”

“I would actually pay the money in the world to go to the party now,” she added.

Another patron who attended the Magic Kingdom’s “Very Merriest After Hours” event this week spotted a black Santa in the Main Street nighttime parade, shared a video on TikTok account @rozyqueenofcups and wrote, “I can’t express how magical this moment was. Thank u @disneyparks for the representation,” and adding hashtags including #blacksanta and #representationmatters.

Disney’s not the only company implementing more diverse rosters of Santa’s helpers.

On Friday, Old Navy held an online “Santa Bootcamp” that sought Christmas fans “from a broad array of backgrounds, ethnicities and cultural heritages to offer more representation in the role of Santa,” according to a press release.

And, in 2017, Macy’s Herald Square revealed to The Post that it has a secret army of “special” Santas of varied races and ethnicities.

Meanwhile, in a polarizing measure last September, Apple rolled out a beta for a non-binary Santa Claus emoji without a beard.