Hello.
My take on the article Is there a Santa Claus?:
Of course there is Santa Claus or whatever you might call the equivalent in your culture, but (s)he is just a cultural concept maintained by adults for the children.
You can think that it’s like justice which is a cultural concept maintained by adults for the adults.
but to really think that he’s going through the chimnies and working with elves on North Pole, that’s for childeren not for adults.
Topi
<sob> You mean Santa isn’t real? Why oh why did I have to open this thread? <sob sob>
Well if I recall right, Santa Claus was loosely based on a Christian saint St. Nicholas. As well as as figure from folklore known as “Christkind” (which is where the term “Kris Kringle” comes from):
There there now … of course there’s a Santa Claus … a meme as real as any … dry your tears and all these naughty children are getting coal this Christmas morning …
Every year for the past (almost) 50 years the Pasadena JayCees hold Operation Santa in coordination with the Pasadena PD and the Alta Dena Sherriff’s station of LA County Sherriff’s Dept.
For the past 17 years (and again tomorrow for the 18th time) myself and 49 other families will drive there to don the suits and deliver toys in answer to letters written in schools in the area.
Yeah there’s a friggen Santa Claus. I know because <channel Michael Keaton> “I’m Santa Claus”.
There will be an additional 100 or so folks sorting toys, providing food admin-type paperwork, plus a dozen cops and perhaps a firetruck to help deliver.
Add in Toys-For-Tots and all the other toy collections drives and consider this a collective representation of what Santa is about. The sum of all this goodness is easily equal to Santa.
The story I have of one little girl who wanted a “real Barbie doll that my mommy can’t afford” will haunt me the rest of my life. We found the odd address to be the garage behind a small house. She was living in that unheated garage with her mother and 7 other adults. When she saw that doll she started to cry with joy; then handed it back and said, “Here, Santa, give it to a little girl who needs it more than I do”.
I told her she was on the nice list and that Santa loved her and always would. Before we got to black & white the sheriffs deputy was openly crying, as was I.
Yeah there’s a friggen Santa Claus. I know because <channel Michael Keaton> “I’m Santa Claus”.
One year we were short on help so one announcement was made on one radio station here in LA. We had over 400 people offering their cars, physical assistance and money in less than an hour.
Yeah there’s a friggen Santa Claus. I know because <channel Michael Keaton> “I’m Santa Claus”.
frubes the Kosher Kris Kringle