Each Christmas season, Santa can be seen at every local mall waiting for children to sit on his lap and tell him their Christmas wishes. For most mall patrons, Santa is always white which doesn’t show much diversity.

This past Thursday, Larry Jefferson, a professional Santa impersonator, made his debut as this season’s Santa at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Mall of America welcomes its first black Santa https://t.co/TJ90SkjZLP pic.twitter.com/cus0Jy2Zg8

— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) December 2, 2016

When news of this hit the internet, there were many different responses. The most surprising responses were from people who were outraged at the thought of Santa as a black man.

Since Santa is a fictional character there is no right or wrong way to portray him. White or black, all a child will see is Santa.

Even though there has been backlash, every reservation to see Jefferson is full proving that he is very popular. According to an article from The Washington Post, some families drove miles to see Jefferson and a woman told him she had been waiting 25 years to see a black Santa.

“Everyone’s making a big deal about this because I’m a black Santa. But gosh, I’m just Santa!” said Jefferson in and interview with The Washington Post.