Santa Claus Does Exist
Santa Claus used to exist, and his existence carries on in the spirit of the holidays through the hearts and minds of individuals, corporations, and religions. With this being said, there are many conflicts as to whether he ever existed, what he symbolizes, and from where he originated. Some people speculate that he is a commercial figment of imagination; that in fact his only purpose is to encourage people to shop during the month of December. Some people think he is a pagan symbol of a pagan holiday, while still others refer to Santa Claus as a Saint from ancient histories. Which history is also debated. Many people still belief that Santa Claus encourages the spirit of giving, acts of kindness, and charity during Christmas. For instance, the news today is filled with stories of giving, sharing, and charity. Matter of fact, the act of giving is never as prevalent as it is at the Christmas holiday, and more often in the guise of Santa Claus. In the same token, some people think to encourage a belief in Santa is to encourage falsehoods in young children. Many religions would rather people give in the name of Jesus, than in the name of Santa Claus, but some religions deny giving or celebrating the Christmas holiday – in any one’s name. The legend of Santa Claus is adapted from a real factual person, however the Santa of American Malls and shops nationwide is a compilation of commercial adaptations from the figment of many creative minds. His legend is the stuff that embodies the spirit of giving during the holidays; and, yes, increases the economy as people stuff their children’s stockings.
Have you read the poem The Night before Christmas, the poem in which a jolly man springs from his sleigh, down the chimney, and back off into the night exclaiming “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night”? He is dressed in red, has rosy cheeks, and eight reindeer that fly! Have you ever thought about where this legend began? According to History.com (2010), the legend of Santa Claus began in what is now known as Turkey. He was an ordinary man who began blessing the poor with money and gifts. This was in the third century, and like most saints his fame became known world-wide. In Holland, the Dutch (who would eventually settle in the New World) called this Saint Nicholas by the name of Sinter Klaas, and as they settled in the New World they brought the spirit of this legend with them. As time went on, Americans such as Clement Clarke Moore and Thomas Nast would transform the legendary Saint Nicholas and Sinter Klaas into the iconic Santa Claus of the world. In the third century, December sixth was appointed as Saint Nicholas day and Europeans ended up incorporating it into their holy ceremonies. It became a day of celebrating and gift giving.
Throughout the world, the American Santa Claus has been known by many names: Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, Sinter Klaas, and der Weinachtsmann. No matter what he is known as, he has become a world-wide symbol of Christmas. According to legend, he starts at midnight on Christmas Eve flying from the North Pole, delivering gifts to all the good little children of the world. According to the North Pole history website (2009), the North Pole became an unrealistic living space for Santa in 1925 because realistically the reindeer could not graze at the North Pole. So, “Markus Rautio, who compared the popular "Children's hour" on Finnish public radio, revealed the great secret for the first time in 1927: Santa Claus lives on Lapland's Korvatunturi” (north-pole.com/history, 2009).
The commercialization of Santa began in America during the nineteenth century with the poem by Clement Clarke Moore, The Night before Christmas, and was then redrawn by Thomas Nast in the magazine, Harpers, in the late 1980s. And then, Coca-Cola introduced the iconic Santa suit to help them sell sodas in the 1930s, while the Montgomery Ward Company introduced Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer in the latter part of the thirties (north-pole.com/history, 2009). Arruda (2003), calls Santa Claus the “envy of branch managers everywhere” because
The presence of Santa in shopping centres, retail outlets and homes clearly provide a strong visual presence for the Santa brand while the connection with Christmas clearly encourages consumption, gift-giving and expenditure as part of what is termed the ‘Christmas spirit’” (Clarke 2006, 2007). In the United States for example, 1.9 billion Christmas cards are given each year while 20.8 million Christmas trees were cut on farms for purchase in 2002 (US Census Bureau 2005).
This may be very true, since Santa can be seen in every mall in America, at amusement parks, such as Santa’s Land in Cherokee, North Carolina, and in commercials throughout the world. He is an iconic figure at Christmas parties and letters are sent to him annually. He is in movies, books, cards, and television. One movie (a very old one) tries to proof Santa Claus is real through the court system, while another movie (a newer one) takes an ordinary man, puts him in the iconic Santa suit, and he magically turns into Santa Claus. Commercially, those movies must have done well, especially the last one because they made two more sequels to the Santa Claus movie. Not only can you see Santa at the mall, you can even follow him on his flight around the world on Christmas Eve, thanks to NORAD, a website which posts the travels of Santa. Small children are reminded throughout the year, “To be good, for goodness sake because Santa Claus is coming”. So the question begs to be asked, “Why do people throughout the world encourage this epic myth, legend, or lie” – however you choose to refer to it?
According to Thompson and Hickey (2003), people may either accept or deny the myth of Santa Claus or they may “play along with it” because they feel it is harmless and useful (p. 372). They go on to state that malls are centers of socialism, and that “they offer an escape from the dull routines of daily life” (Thompson & Hickey, 2003, p. 374). In other words, Santa Claus gives people, such as “teenagers, bored housewives, and retirees” (p. 374) a reason to go to the mall in order to socialize.
According to Vines, an editor, Tom Flynn, believed it “unfair to trick children with stories of a magical gift-giver, reinforced by "evidence", such as empty glasses of milk and half-eaten mince pies by the Christmas tree.” When parents threaten children with no Santa Claus if they are not good, or tell their children that Santa exists they are, according to Flynn setting “elaborate deceptions…traps…encourages lazy parenting and promotes unhealthy fear” (Vines, 2007, p. 36). He continues by implying that children who asks or demands for things from Santa are just being materialistic, and that parents encourage this concept of materialism. He does have a point: How exactly are children to be taught not to lie or deceive, but yet they are constantly told a man in a red suit will deliver their gifts down a chimney and deposit them under the tree. Parents all over the world buy gifts, wrap them, assemble them, pile them under the tree, and fill the stockings while telling the children that Santa really delivered them. The cookies laid out by the children? They are consumed by the parents. Is this then considered a lie? Technically, it is; but is it necessarily wrong to encourage good behavior, and good will towards others? While most children do ask Santa for presents, they also remember their parents or other children with less than themselves.
While Santa seems to promote commercialism, and promote materialism, he also brings out the charity, sense of community, love, and giving during the holiday season; something I am sure a Saint would revel at. Operation Santa Claus, which began in New York in the 1920s, is one of those charities inspired by the legend of Santa Claus. They claim approximately one hundred fifty thousand letters from children to Santa Claus in 1998, and USAtoday reports over two million letters from needy children to Santa Claus at the New York postal services office. Accordingly, at least twenty post offices have a department which handles letters to Santa, and they file them and ask for patrons of the post office to fill the requests in the letters. Programs such as this can be found from one site to another on the internet, from Secret Santa workshops to Family 2 Family, which helps the children of American soldiers during a wartime holiday. The one major thing all these sites have in common is the spirit of giving, and sometimes in the name of Santa Claus.
Charity is an aspect of the holidays that most people can agree on; however, there are religions and religious leaders who do not believe in Santa Claus or Christmas. Jehovah Witnesses’ are one group who do not believe in celebrating the Christmas Holiday (or any holiday for that matter). And one religious leader, a clergyman from Copenhagen, went so far as to call Santa Claus a pagan goblin (Clar, 1959, p 337). When asked what religion Santa Claus was, one writer claims that Santa became synonymous with Christmas during the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. She touts the pagan idea and the Catholic bishop legends of Santa Claus, but notes one historian’s stance that Santa is actually an Episcopalian because “the magic surrounding Moore’s Santa embodies many of the Christmas delights, sounds, and smells one might discover in an Episcopal Cathedral on Christmas Eve” and that Santa “embodies Christian values of benevolence and charity” (Brachear, 2007). However, she also quotes Dell deChant, author of The Sacred Santa. “He said Kris Kringle doesn’t need to belong to a religious institution. He functions as a deity all on his own—a god in the faith of capitalism” (Brachear, 2007). On this premise, Justin Barrett of the University of Oxford accuses society of giving Santa Claus the qualities of a god, but is quick to point out that Santa Claus is not a God by certain criteria (Barrett, 2008).
A writer for Hope for Israel Ministries touts Christmas as a pagan holiday with the legend of Santa Claus coming, not from a Saint of Turkey, but from a Norse God – Nimrod. Nimrod, according to legend, means “mighty one, powerful”, and traditionally gave presents “under an evergreen tree” (The Shocking Pagan Origin of Christmas, Keyser). According to this site, the Scandinavian god, Odin, also was a god who left gifts under a sacred tree (Keyser, year of publish unknown). And in the Catholic religion, Santa Claus’ claim to religion came from a water deity; that in fact, Catholics deny a Saint Nicholas ever existed (Keyser). And further still, Tony van Renterghem claims that Santa was a shaman in his book, When Santa Was a Shaman (factmaster, September 2010).
Therefore, whether Santa was a shaman, a saint, a god, or a pagan, he did exist. His origin and his purpose have been debated by psychologists, theorists, and journalists. During the season of Santa Claus’ trek, parents, community corporations and religious affiliated groups give gifts in displays of charity. While Santa Claus does help promote commercialism and sales during the months leading up to December 25th, he also helps promote the spirit of good will to others, giving and charity, and sharing. The Santa of commercials, movies, and holiday parties is a figment of many people’s imaginations, however many legends and myths also led up to their depiction of this legendary symbol. The television and journalists fill the air ways with stories of giving, and often times the iconic Santa Claus is standing in the background. Parents may lie to their children in order to encourage well behaved kids throughout the year, and while some parents encourage materialism within the hearts of their children; there are many parents who teach their children the religious concepts of charity, love, and honor. In religions, the debate continues to rotate around paganism and sainthood. The religions still cannot agree on the origin of Santa Claus, or what religion he belongs to, and what he actually embodies. For me, I believe – not in a big man who flies through the air on a sleigh drawn by eight flying reindeer – but in the belief that people can remember to help the less fortunate, to enjoy the fun visits to the mall, to visit their families, and to share what I have been blessed with. In this day, the economy certainly needs the boost which only Santa can influence.
References:
- Brachear, M., (November 30, 2007). Is Santa religious? Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2007/11/is-santa-religi.html
- Clar, M., (Oct., 1959). Attack on Santa Claus. Western Folklore 18(4) p. 337. Western State Folklore Society. Retrieved on 11/27/2010 at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1497769.
- Hall, C. Michael. Santa Claus, place branding and competition. Fennia 186: 1,
pp. 59–67. Helsinki. ISSN 0015-0010.
- Fact Master (September 2010). Tony van Renterghem. Retrieved at
http://www.factslane.com/tony-van-renterghem/
- Keyser, J. D. (editor). The Shocking Pagan Origins of Christmas. Retrieved on December 20,
- Leinwand, D., (December 15, 2010). Kids write Santa this year for basic needs instead of toys.
USA Today. Retrieved from ). http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-12-15
1Asantaletters15_ST_N.htm
- Norad (2010). Retrieved from http://www.noradsanta.org/en/anorad.html
- Origins of Santa Claus. (2010). The History Channel website. Retrieved 11:09, December 20,
2010, from http://www.history.com/videos/origins-of-santa-claus.
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