Posten Norge, the official postal service of Norway’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, recently created the most gloriously queer holiday shipping ad we’ve ever seen.
Check out the video here:
For something that comes in at just under 4:00 (there’s a 1:00 version here), it sure does pack a lot of punch.
The plot follows what appears to be an average Norwegian man who meets Santa. Over the course of the next few years, we see the man’s life. He’s a family person, he’s great with kids, and appears to lead a charming life full of friends and family.
We see the protagonist celebrating Julaften (Christmas Eve) and engaging in many traditional Norwegian holiday activities. But what we don’t see is much in the way of romance or adult intimacy. That is, of course, until Santa visits again.
Rather than reducing the budding queer relationship between Santa and Harry (we presume that’s his name based on the ad’s title) to something purely physical, we see them growing closer through a series of vignettes.
We see Santa and Harry talking, laughing, and even exchanging handmade gifts. It’s a beautiful relationship that defies notions of language, culture, or sexuality. It’s just wonderful to see, no matter the context.
Toss in the fact that you’re seeing a queer relationship between what appears to be a middle-aged man and Santa – who, as far as we know here at Love is a Fetish, is thousands of years old or more – and you’ve got one of the sweetest queer stories we’ve seen all year.
The caption at the end of the film reads: “In 2022, it will be 50 years since it became legal to love whomever you want in Norway.”
In 1981, Norway became the first country to enact a law preventing the discrimination of queer people.
In the US, sadly, no such law exists. There’s a proposed bill that would add LGBTQ+ people to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a protected group, but Conservative push-back and Congressional gridlock have placed the bill’s future in jeopardy.
Worse, a record-breaking amount of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been introduced in 2021 with politicians hoping to do everything from banning gender-neutral accommodations on public property to making it legal for first-responders to refuse aid to queer people.
President Biden addressed the issue over the weekend in a statement regarding Transgender Day of Remembrance:
“As I have said before, these bills are nothing more than bullying disguised as legislation, they are un-American, and they endanger the safety and well-being of our children. I also continue to urge the Senate to swiftly pass the Equality Act so that all people are able to live free from fear and discrimination.”
We won’t hold our breath.
But we will keep watching this adorable holiday commercial because the world needs more media that normalizes queer relationships – even if they involve fictional, seasonal characters.
H/t: Queerty
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Most relevant ad I’ve seen.