Hello, panopticon!
I truthfully don't know what "SANTA" is. It doesn't have the typical form of a comet, yet the form of this/these object/s is always the same. I have never found an "official" explanation for it. My guess? Either a spaceship or a huge living stingray-looking space-being, LOL.
I have not found one word on that flare today. I have the feeling that it is another filament explosion, and if it is, then we can expect more of the same kind of geomagnetic disturbance that we have been witnessing these last few days.