Scott Diethorne, a man from Pennsylvania with an incredible beard and a jolly good attitude to boot, has been a professional Santa [1] for 15 years. By all accounts he's pretty damn good at his job, too — even if he's a little rough around the edges. Known for his "naughty" and "nice" arm tattoos, getting a little silly by spinning kiddos upside down, and taking photos with people's pets, Scott adds a serious dose of fun to families' otherwise traditional Christmas pictures. [2] But recently, some controversy has been stirring after Cherry Hill Programs, the company in charge of mall Santas in Scott's area, gave him a new set of instructions: he was only to take traditional photos this year [3].

Philly.com reported that although there wasn't a specific incident that led to the protocol change [4] that they know of, Cherry Hill Programs released a statement after The Inquirer and The Daily News asked a few questions: "During this special time of year, we are focused on delivering a magical holiday experience. We remain dedicated to preserving the tradition and image of Santa with authentic holiday visits for every guest to our programs."

And Scott's loyal customers are totally outraged.

NBC reported that despite the news, his customers are more loyal than ever [5]. Amanda Nagy, a fan of Scott's, posted a photo to Facebook [6] along with a plea for others to share, explaining how disappointed she is that she couldn't get her unique annual photo with Scott. Commenters are supporting her cause to ditch the mainstream Christmas photos: "This is why we love Santa Scott! I love that he's unique and different from all the other typical Santas out there. Keep going strong Santa Scott, we all love you!!!" wrote one user. Another chimed in saying, "Let Santa Scott be himself. We love him."

Scott's 24-year-old daughter, Greene, told Philly.com that her dad's goal is to spread Christmas cheer. "He wants to make everyone happy [7]," Greene said. "I feel like his happiest time of the year is Christmas."