Every December for more than half a century, one New Jersey Catholic has donned a red hat and white beard to spread Christmas cheer in his hometown.

Ed Broderick, 85, has played Santa Claus for Christmas festivities in Bayonne, New Jersey, for 60 years.  

“Seemed to fly by,” Broderick told EWTN News Nightly reporter Mark Irons. “As much as it seems the same, it’s always different because the kids have no role. They’re honest, they’re excited, they light up. And I think to myself—am I really doing this?”

This year, Broderick rolled into the town’s annual Christmas tree lighting riding in the back of a Bayonne Fire Department truck, lights flashing and sirens blaring. A crowd of local families greeted him, and dozens of children cued up to sit on his lap and tell him their Christmas wishes. 

“Especially as I got older, I’m not letting anyone take one minute of happiness out of my day,” Broderick said when asked why he sticks with the role.

Broderick was born and raised in Bayonne, where he later spent his career as a city employee. In addition to spreading joy at local festivities, Broderick has appeared as Santa at veterans’ hospitals, cancer support groups, nursery schools, and kindergarten classes in the area.

A cradle Catholic and a member of the Knights of Columbus, Broderick said he discerned religious life as a young man, inspired by the Christian Brothers of St. John Baptist de la Salle who taught him at St. Peter’s Boys’ High School in Staten Island. 

Though he eventually discerned a different vocation, Broderick said he still starts every day with prayer. Before he even brushes his teeth or makes his coffee in the morning, he says a Rosary.

“From the time I started doing the Rosary, it seems like everything in my life shaped up,” he said. 

This time of year, Broderick advocates for keeping Christ in Christmas. He even objects to abbreviating “Christmas” as “X-mas.”

“Well, that’s kind of disturbing,” he said when asked about his preference. “You’re taking the Christ out of Christmas.”

Without Christ there would be no Christmas, he said.

“I think the most important thing is to keep Christ in your mind, in your thoughts, in your deeds and everything. And the gifts and all will take care of themselves.”