''When Harry Met Santa'' is a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

-themed advertisement for

Posten Norge Posten Norge () is the name of the Norwegian mail, postal service. The company, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications had a monopoly until 2016 on distribution of letters weighing less than 50g throughout the country. ...

, the Norwegian postal service. It was released in November 2021 in advance of the 50th anniversary of the

decriminalisation Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the reclassification in law relating to certain acts or aspects of such to the effect that they are no longer considered a crime, including the removal of criminal penalties in relation to them. This refor ...

of sex between men in Norway in 2022.

Content

The advert – which gets its title from the 1989 romantic comedy film '' When Harry Met Sally...'' – shows a man named Harry seeking a relationship with

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

. Harry first sees Santa as when he delivers presents to his home one year, and their relationship develops year-on-year. Harry eventually writes a

love letter A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings. History One of the oldest references to a l ...

to Santa, saying " all I want for Christmas is you", before he and Santa kiss each other. Santa then asks for help from

, the Norwegian postal service, to deliver presents on his behalf on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipati ...

, so he can spend more time with Harry, his new

boyfriend A boyfriend is a male friend or acquaintance, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is romantically or sexually involved. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suitor and sweetheart. The analogous female ...

Reception

The advert quickly became a

viral phenomenon Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...

worldwide, with most initial responses being "almost universally positive" and emotional in nature. It received positive responses from Canadian MP

Randall Garrison Randall C. Garrison (born August 27, 1951) is a Canadian politician. Elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, he represents the electoral district of Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke and is a member of the New Democratic Party ...

and former

U.S. ambassador to Denmark The first representative from the United States to Denmark was appointed in 1827 as a Chargé d'Affaires. There followed a series of chargés and ministers until 1890 when the first full ambassador ''(Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten ...

Rufus Gifford John Rufus Gifford (born August 5, 1974) is an American politician, diplomat, and reality television personality, who serves as the chief of protocol of the United States. Between 2013 and 2017, he was the United States Ambassador to Denmark. ...

. However, the advert was criticised for sexualising Santa by some critics in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, such as

Dawn Neesom Dawn Neesom (born 11 December 1964) is an English journalist. She was promoted to the post of editor of the '' Daily Star'' newspaper in December 2003, but left at the end of February 2018. Born in Stratford, London, England, Neesom attended ...

(a columnist for the '' Daily Star'', a tabloid newspaper) and

Melanie Blake Melanie Blake is an English author, columnist and talent agent. Blake began her career working as a camera assistant on ''Top of the Pops'' and eventually formed her own music agency. After representing music stars, she formed an acting and PR ...

(a commentator and author).

Katie Edwards Katie Edwards may refer to: * Katie Edwards-Walpole (born 1981), member of the Florida House of Representatives * Katie B. Edwards (born 1978), English academic, writer, and broadcaster See also * Kate Edwards (born c. 1965), geographer, writer, ...

, a British author and academic, said in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' that such criticism was based on

anti-gay The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBT topics. Sexuality * Human sexuality ** Sexual diversity ** Gendered sexuality *** Human male sexuality *** Human female sexuality *** Transgender sexuality * Sexual attraction ** An ...

tropes and the "villainisation of gay male sexuality", whereby two men kissing is seen as an inherently sexual act or behaviour, but a man and a woman kissing is not, as it is considered the norm by society.

László Kövér László Kövér (; born 29 December 1959) is a Hungarian politician and the current speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary. He was the acting president of Hungary from 2 April 2012 to 10 May 2012, after the resignation of Pál Schmitt. A ...

, the speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, accused the advert of desecrating Christmas. The advert was not controversial in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and has been seen as an example of changing attitudes in the country as a result of campaigning by LGBT rights activists such as

Kim Friele Karen-Christine Friele ( Wilhelmsen; 27 May 1935 – 22 November 2021), known as Kim Friele, was a Norwegian gay rights and human rights activist, famous for being the first gay Norwegian to publicly acknowledge and advocate for her sexuality, i ...

. This includes the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1972 and the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2009.

References

{{reflist

External links

When Harry met Santa ENG SUB
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

Advertising campaigns Christmas in Norway Advertising and marketing controversies LGBT-related controversies in television Santa Claus LGBT in Norway 2020s television commercials LGBT portrayals in mass media