Biggest Conspiracy Ever: SANTA!

Think about it. All the parents who actively encourage the Santa Claus myth amongst their children and sneak presents under the tree to foster belief in this mysterious immortal sky sleigh pilot.

This is something that has been on my mind lately. I find the history of Santa quite fascinating. You can find much information online about the various pagan origins of Christmas (and other Christian holidays.) I'm not going in to all that, but it is a point to keep in mind. It seems that Santa Claus is a strange amalgam of Christian and pagan traditions.

I will disclose that I am a rather mystically inclined agnostic myself, but I was raised in a Christian family, confirmed in a Lutheran church and believing in Santa Claus for many childhood years. From what I understand about Christianity, the very overwhelming focus on Santa Claus - considering the symbol's associations with both pagan figures and rampant consumerism - would very well be considered sacrilege and an encroachment on the sanctity of their "holy day."

There is also the corporate angle to this. The ubiquitous image of our modern Santa was highly influenced by Coca Cola advertising. I'll give you the Snopes story first. While debunking the myth that "the modern image of Santa Claus was created by Coca Cola," they make a good case for the significant role Coke played in cementing that image in our collective minds.

Here's what Coke has to say about it. They seem rather proud of the role they have played. And this Alternet article suggests that the Santa ad campaign was responsible for boosting the slumping sales of Coke when its namesake ingredient was banned - forcing the company to target a new market. Funny to think that the world's favorite soda began as a drug dealer. Maybe they're not so different today.

I personally don't know what to think about this, but I do have a strong suspicion that much of it is corporate. I would venture that our whole concept of "Christmas," including the standardized Santa myth, is a calculated effort to encourage consumer culture - and give the companies a nice boost at the end of the year!

What about the parents who protest against letting kids believe in Santa?

I don't think that believing in Santa scarred me in any way. In fact, I tried to pretend I still believed long after I figured it out, because it seemed my parents enjoy playing the game so much (and I had a younger sister for whom I didn't want to ruin it.) Its one of those things you slowly come to realize after a few years and its no surprise when you really get it. Besides, I think it is not a bad idea to encourage children to expand the dimensions of what they can imagine and believe in in the world.

But we must ask, why Santa Claus?

Cui bono?

What does our "worship" of this admittedly very rather bizarre character actually DO for us? Or for someone else?

I would love to hear some thoughts on all or some of this.

Personally, Santa Claus to me is paying homage to Saint Nicholas (Jolly Ol' Saint Nick), also known as Nicholas of Myra. He was a Greek Saint from 3rd century AD. Although modern commercialism has bastardized what Santa Claus is, my kids are being taught the classical stories, as well as the historic, and that they are one and the same (for now at least).

This is lighthearted, but, Santa is an anagram of satan, he comes from a pit of fire (fireplace/chimney), and he brings treasure to those who adhere to his credo.

"He knows when you are sleeping.. he knows when you're awake"

Personally, I dont teach my children about Santa for one simple reason, doing so teaches them very early in life that their parents are liars.

I remember how disappointed I was in finding out that my parents did not tell me the truth and that they KNEW they were lying to me.

That fact alone puts santa in league with the devil (prince of lies).

When I was in prison , during christmas , several black men said , and I quote , " It's Kris Kringle holiday time for the white boys " and they were right .
I grew up with this fairy tale being shoved down my throat , and it is just alot of typical white - old school racist agenda that was supposed to make the children believe whites were superior .
It takes a little time ( including hard time ) , to realize what the moral " majority " desires really were . Since I was an adopted caucasion male , my experiences reflect the true nature of having to live in the very consequences of my supposedly correct parentage , including taking the brunt of harsh hatred , in which my racist step parents did not have to experience .

The interpretation of Santa as Satan is completely ludicrous. So Santa Clara, Santa Barbara, Santa Fe, Santa Maria... are all references to Satan? Oh, and the latin origin of Saint is also satanic? Please explain, because I am not getting it.

It is one thing to comment on how merchandising has changed the meaning of Christmas, but another to add your own historic interpretation on it, that completely contradicts... oh, the last 2000 years of linguistic origin?

Personally, I'm anti-Claus all the way!

They say "it makes our children happy". But it IS a deception tactic, designed to enhance the lives of the elite, if nothing else.
Let's face the truth about this. Christmas itself I have noticed, is NOT a time of joy for most of the poor. Christmas puts people under enormous psychological pressure to spend more than they can afford.
You feel bad because you are being forced into debt.
Your children demand expensive presents because "Santa" is paying.
If you love your kids more than your neighbor loves his, prove it by how much you spend.
And if you don't participate in the "festive season", then you are a "Grinch" (or worse).

The whole idea is one very clever marketing tactic that uses your love for your friends and family as a weapon against you.

Use Christmas against the major corporations and BUY nothing except quality time with your loved ones.

[edit on 7/3/08 by NuclearPaul]

The poster explicitly said the comment was "lighthearted" (= joke) - and I personally found his/her further "elaboration" quite clever and amusing, in a lighthearted sort of way.







[edit on 8-3-2008 by Vanitas]

Now that conclusion is brilliant in an almost scholastic (think Aquinas) sort of way!

An excellent post, NuclearPaul. Star to you.

On that subject, another thing that my children have learned is that not all kids have the lifestyle we do. As such, we participate in an "adopt a family" program, where we donate food and gifts to a family in need in our area. My children personally hand gifts they chose to the other children and see the look on the faces of the other children.

During the Katrina fiasco, my daughter (5 at the time) saw the TV reports and asked why they were asking for donations of childrens goods. I explained the best I could and my daughter just freaked out. She ran upstairs and immediately picked out a collection of toys to donate to the kids because they didn't have any. (I just explained that they lost everything - she came to the toy conclusion on her own). This isn't Xmas related, but it shares the same spirit Xmas should have.

Teaching children what is important about the holiday... what it should mean... is the important part. Teaching the history of a man who gave to those in need and as such, we celebrate that in our own lives... that is what is important.

Christmas has just turned into a big shopping and spending spree with thousands of people in Britain alone plunging themselves into debt in order to buy people gifts who in turn do the same.

In the past the idea was great, the idea of giving a gift was a great idea of spreading happiness but the gift didn't have to be a £300 playstation or a quad bike.

Also, the religious idea of Christmas is a huge scam, Jesus was born nearer April than December, the Church chose to have Easter and Christmas at the times they are because it was the time of year when pagan religions held their festivals so the integration of Christianity was made easier by choosing these dates.

With the commercialisation and religious conspiracies surrounding Christmas i'm just glad theres still the fact that it helps bring family and friends together in celebration, otherwise it would be completely pointless and depressing event

Back in the 70's I saw a skit on Saturday Night Live about Santa that struck me as more truth than comedy! they had teh name Santa in magnets on a board and mixed up the letters, talking about why do we tell little children after teaching them all their lives to not talk to strangers, now it is okay to go up to a stranger dressed in all red, sit in his lap, and tell him our deepest and most self fullfilling desires in the belief that if you tell him what you want yourself, you might just get all those material things. At the end of the skit, the letters are rearranged, instead of Santa though, they now spell Satan. That one always stuck with me!

The concept of Santa in itself I feel is a good thing and offers not just children but even adults hope in a hopeless world. However the commercialism does give me the poops and takes away from the truth about Xmas. it is also used too often as a bribing tool for kids. i ve done it myself. but that that mean we should rally to remove Santa from the Xmas scene? It has already started with the Muslims trying to ban it as being offenscive and the "HO HO HO" issues lately. We need to hang on to as much Xmas as we can!

P.S. ceck out the link on my signature for another Santa story.

[edit on 8/3/2008 by VIKINGANT]

Thanks to all for some insightful replies. I think part of the question which keeps nagging at me - at which was not really articulated in my first post - is when did people start really "believing" in Santa.

I can understand recognizing the figure as a saint and even the evolution into a rather mythological (supernatural, even?) creature. But I don't imagine that throughout the history of Santa legends children have held a LITERAL belief in a man who would without fail sneak into their homes every year to deliver presents.

I suppose the famous "Night before Christmas" poem helped solidify that particular interpretation, but even then, was the author really try to pass off this piece of whimsical fictional poetry as an account of an actual experience? I am inclined to think not. When did parents start actively fostering this belief in their children? I imagine that must be tied to the commercialization. Parents "have" to buy more toys when the kids expect not only gifts from Mom and Dad but also from that mysterious chimney crawler.

I thought I'd revive this thread since the timing seems appropriate and I'd like to discuss another angle of the "Christmas conspiracy". It's possible (likely?) this has been discussed before but I haven't seen it anywhere.

Someone mentioned earlier in this thread that Christmas is good for the economy, and at first glance that would obviously seem correct - I mean, how could binge buying possibly be bad for the economy?

Consider the fact that a large number of retailers operate in the red for the first three quarters of every year, only turning out a profit in the last quarter when consumers are going nuts with their binge buying. Ever wonder why this is the case? Why aren't consumers spending enough throughout the year to keep retailers in the black (or significantly less in the red) year-round?

Is it possible that during this joyous time consumers are racking up so much credit card debt that they are simply incapable of properly contributing to the economy in order to catch up on their credit cards? If so, do you see the vicious circle here?

We have consumers who binge in the last quarter resulting in massive credit card debt for many. This debt results in very poor first-second quarter sales which leaves the retailers depending on their lines of credit for day-to-day operations and payroll. I wonder how many billions of dollars this binge and purge tradition causes to be kicked up to creditors? Unless I'm exagerating the binge and purge effect that I've described here, banks are the clear benefactors of the Christmas gift-giving tradition.

Does this sound plausible? Am I out to lunch?

The idea of Santa is not that healthy for children.

It teaches them to desire 'riches'...material objects, even if the family is poor, it teaches them that they must not be special enough to receive the same items that the rich child receives.

Children return to school after brake and share what they got for Christmas. If anyone thinks that jealousy, greed and envy are not a part of Christmas...then you are not looking at the whole picture. It teaches children to be prideful in their manna's (riches).

Its just a way to cover up the whole celebration of the Winter Solstice, in my opinion. In might of started out good...with good intentions to give gifts to the poor, and I know there are those who truly do follow this and help out families at Christmas (I admire those that do this).

What do you think goes through a 9 or 10 yr olds mind when their friend might tell them Santa is not real? What do you think they think about this fable that their parents insisted to them since they were a toddler? Do you not think they might feel a bit taken for a 'fool'?

I think its more healthy to let them know its a 'act' that the family can join in on if they wish. We can label 'santas' name on the package, we can visit santa and play along....but let them in on the imagination part.

LV

The expectation of presents is fun, for the kids mainly. With the adults it's just a gift exchange. The decoration of lights make the gloomy winter not seem so bad. I guess Santa gives it a magical touch, just like Disney does with its movies.

The roots of Christmas is quite interesting.

The three wise men who gave presents to Jesus.
The star that led them to him.
The decorating of the fir tree.
The birth date of December 25.

The three wise men were actually astrologers from the east who read the stars to predict the future. This is fortune telling and its practice was forbidden by the Israelites. The star led the wise men to king Herod first and they told the king that they had their own prophecy about a coming ruler to the region. Herod really wanted Jesus killed because he didn’t want to lose his throne, to the prophetic king. If the star was from God it should have led them directly to Jesus, not to the man who wanted to kill him. This star is now on the top of the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen which represents enduring life, despite the death dealing blow of winter. This then leads to the event of December 25, the Winter Solstice. Saturnalia was practiced by the Romans as the return of the sun and the herald of Spring and Summer. Saturn was the god of agriculture and the celebration renewed the power of the sun.

On a side note I think Jeremiah 10:1-5 might be talking about a Saturnalia/Christmas tree.

"Hear you the word which the Lord speaks unto you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord. Learn not the way of the heathen and be not dismayed at the signs of the heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain. For one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it [the tree] with silver and with gold. They fasten it [the tree] with nails and with hammers that it move not. They [such trees] are upright as the palm tree, but speak not. The tree [KJV: stock] is a doctrine of vanities. Silver is spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder. Blue and purple is their clothing. They [the trees] are all the work of cunning men."

The Christmas Tree Debate