Is your ideal man an older portly gentleman with a hearty laugh and a love for children? Does his idea of adventure sport involve riding a reindeer sleigh at night and sliding down chimneys? More importantly, if the thought of Father Christmas sets your loins on fire, you could have Santaphilia, a sexual attraction towards Santa Claus. And no you are not alone. A 2008 poll by BeNaughty.com revealed that more than one in five women (close to 20 percent) fantasises about Santa! Pornhub insights from the last couple of years show that ‘Santa’s helper’ and ‘Santa’ are common search terms during the holidays.

Santaphilia is real, and very confusing to people who don’t have it. But to understand it, we need to understand what ‘fetish’ is. Fetish is described as sexual attraction towards something (often an object) that is not sexual. To think that some people sexualise a grandpa figure like Santa Claus can ruin every Christmas memory you have for life. But what makes the thought of sitting on Santa’s lap makes women and men go weak in the knees? Christmas 2018: Who is Santa Claus? Surprising Facts About Father Christmas, Including His Connection With Coca-Cola.

Kind-Hearted Authority Figures

According to many Redditors, the attraction towards Santa is mainly due to an underlying attraction towards large-hearted authority figures or gentle giants. Santa has always been a positive character who instils a sense of safety in children. Kindness figures very high in the list of desirable qualities that women seek in real relationships. A study published in BMC Evolutionary Biology says that helping behaviour or selflessness is an indicator of "good genes." Kind-hearted people are perceived as providers of "non-genetic benefits" such as protection and parental care. So much for bad boys. NSFW Santa Claus Memes That Will Make You Go ‘Ho Ho Ho!’ This Christmas.

The Colour Red

Santa is dressed mostly in red, which is the universal colour of love and passion. And it’s not just a symbolic association. Studies say women wearing red appear more sexually attractive to men. It turns out, it works the other way around too. According to a 2014 study in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, red clothing also had a marginally significant effect on men’s attractiveness.

Facial Hair

Silvery-white facial hair is one of the most important physical features of Santa Claus. It’s widely believed that thick facial hair is an indicator of high testosterone levels. Although the jury is still out, a study published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology that surveyed 8,500 women between 18 and 100 years said that men with facial hair are more attractive than their clean-shaven counterparts.

Sexualisation of Santa

Remember the Christmas carol “I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus”? It’s a classic Xmas song from a child’s perspective about the self-explanatory title. Whether you like it or not, we have already sexualised the idea of Santa at a very young age. And then there’s the Freudian maxim of our formative years shaping our sexual lives.

So Santaphiles don’t have to beat themselves up. There are ways to explore your Santa fetish in healthy ways. Santa porn is one of the holiday favourites. So we can think of a few ways you can spend Christmas Eve. Role-playing is another option if you have a partner who’s willing to go along.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 20, 2018 07:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).