# Why does Santa say "Ho Ho Ho"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103 "2004-11-16T19:31:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/41 "2004-11-26T21:30:06Z")
Santa should get with the times and say “LOL”. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/42 "2004-11-26T21:54:35Z")
Dunno about Santa, but I know why The Flinstones go “Yabba Dabba Doo” ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/43 "2004-11-26T23:08:43Z")
Would you rather he said **No,No,No**? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/44 "2004-11-27T08:56:11Z")
The guy gets out one a year, and it’s supposedly spent giving gifts to children all over the world. That takes time. Folks, I ask you. I you had just one night a year to get out on your own, and you had most of that night taken up by giving away presents, wouldn’t you cut the small talk and ask for what you want for fun? Ho! Ho! Ho! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/45 "2004-11-27T09:01:00Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > If he said ‘Don Don Don’ it would sound like he was making some kind of plea to Vito Corleone, capesh? Of course, you meant _capeesh_, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/46 "2004-11-27T10:47:52Z")
He doesn’t say HO HO HO at all. The traditional image of Santa on the rooftops is taken from a fifteenth century wood cut which can be be found in the [Santinomicon](you expected a real link?). Santa is on the roof, about to deliver presents to the King of Bavaria, when he is disturbed by the slithering horror of N’Claus’n’ht’oth. His reaction is to to exclaim “OH OH OH” as his beard turned instantly white. Santa became permanently insane and was doomed to an eternity of pain and suffering at the North Pole. His only escape, even to this day, is to deliver presents on the anniversary of his imprisonment. For reasons not known to mortal man, the image of the woodcut was reversed and this story was lost. Until now… ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/47 "2004-11-27T12:10:00Z")
[Ho Ho Ho](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000345I/qid=1101557371/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl15/102-0265826-6144159?v=glance&s=music&n=507846) ---
**Author:** ![Eegba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Eegba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eegba)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/48 "2004-11-28T04:40:19Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Hell, have you seen the way those female elves dress these days??? [Ho^3](http://www.rhymes-with-witch.com/storeho3.html) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/49 "2004-11-28T16:42:33Z")
> [@Kricket](#): > > No, no. > The joke is…Why doesn’t santa have any children? > > Because he only comes once a year and that is down a chimney I always heard it’s because he’s only got popcorn balls. Your version’s funnier, though. > [@duffer](#): > > Of course, you meant _capeesh_, right? 😉 Maybe not. It seems no one can quite agree how to spell that word in its slang usage: [http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/founddiscuss1.asp?Num=4408](http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/founddiscuss1.asp?Num=4408) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/50 "2004-11-28T21:02:34Z")
It’s because Santa Claus is a cryptic personification of Satan. Apart from the obvious anagram, association with demonic elves, purpose of distracting the masses from celebrating the nativity by placing attention on material pleasures, etc, “HO HO HO” is a satanic signifier. Let him that hath understanding count the letters between “H” and “O” in the alphabet: I J K L M N So HO HO HO represents…? Behold, it is the number of a man. \*cue scary organ music, thunder and lightning \* ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/51 "2004-11-28T22:39:33Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > Dunno about Santa, but I know why The Flinstones go “Yabba Dabba Doo” OKay, I’ll ask. So why do the Flinstones go ‘Yabba Dabba Doo’? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/52 "2004-11-28T23:07:13Z")
> [@as\_u\_wish](#): > > Why **does** Santa say ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!’?" Because if he said \*\*"Hi! Hi! Hi! \*\*everyone would think he is a lush. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103/53 "2004-11-29T00:09:20Z")
> [@Joe K](#): > > What if he said “Haw Haw Haw”? People would think he was Nelson Muntz. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Cause three Ho’s are better than one? That’s what I always say… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-santa-say-ho-ho-ho/275103.md?page=2)