Santa Claus and The power of belief

[Gale]

i just wanted to put in my input. I love santa and i believe in him as much as a grown, sane person could. Saint Nick was a real person, and when i found out that "santa" wasn't real, i already knew about saint nick. He was just a guy who really did ride a sleigh, and maybe did have reindeer, and delivered toys to kids in winter. Its a real story. and its inspiring and endearing. and so every christmas, we give gifts to try and replicate that one mans kindness. and for kids who can't give very much yet, we tell them to be good, so that they're worthy of such kindness.

i'm 18 and my sister is 17 and we're wicked into christmas. we still even write letter to santa every year. we write a toy or two, but mostly (well i don't know about her) i wish for my family to be together, my friends to be happy, etc. i think its good to write that stuff down, and even to mail it, cause you know, it makes everyone happy. i know our mailman likes to see our letters to santa every year.

whenever we have company, they always ask her and i how we can be so committed to the holiday, (especially me) even when there aren't kids around to decorate or sing for or play with or whatever. they ask how we can still hurry to bed on christmas eve, and why even once there we can't sleep. Its christmas spirit that comes down our chimney. its peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. Santa is just an embodiment of all those good things, and we realized that when we realized that santa "wasn't real" or rather, he wasn't a person. Santa is an idealogy about faith in human kindness. and to me, that is real, to cynics, its not.

every year, the best parts of christmas are singing carols with my family, and baking gingerbread houses and making snow flakes. its decorating the house so when people come over, it feels like christmas to them, because for whatever reason, they don't have that feeling at home. and then, its shopping for gifts for my friends and family. and finding the perfect gifts. i like to watch my friends and family unwrap what i got them, and to watch their faces light up. i play jokes, and i get fun things. Usually, i get stuff i really don't like. but i can't control what i get, so i don't worry about it. giving is what the holiday is really about.

at any rate, i love christmas the REAL things it stands for, especially santa. some people don't appreciate christmas for what it really is, sure, and to them its a holiday about getting as many presents as possible, and spending all you can. But that's not christmas and that's not santa. Kids who grow up understanding what christmas really is about aren't sad or dissapointed when they learn the truth, because they haven't lost anything. Santa is just the metaphor that children can more easily relate to, and he stands for all the true happy meanings of christmas.

 

[tribdog]

somebody's been getting into the egg nog again and watching It's a Wonderful life.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I didn't get any eggnog with brandy this year. Last year was the first time I'd ever had it since I have always detested eggnog. I found that the brandy makes it quite drinkable.

 

[tribdog]

and it gets more drinkable the more you drink, by the end of the night itsh the besht shtuff I evers strunk.

 

[Gale]

actually, hehe, my mum gave me, my cousins, and my brother some egg nog and rum on xmas eve... heh, we had to hide it from my grandma though..

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Grandma has an egg nog and rum drinking problem?

 

[tribdog]

it's no problem, she's good at drinking it. really good.

 

[Gale]

haha, no, my grandma just doesn't approve of drinking at all. though my mum is pushing 50 soon, she still feels the need to hide it from her.

 

[tribdog]

was she beat a lot when she was a kid? I know that's why I hide stuff from my parents.

 

[Evo]

i just wanted to put in my input. I love santa and i believe in him as much as a grown, sane person could. <snip>

at any rate, i love christmas the REAL things it stands for, especially santa.

You're a lovely person Gale, absolutely delightful, and I hope you never change.

 

[tribdog]

I hope she changes everyday.

 

[Plastic Photon]

Me thinks Santa is a bribe. A way to interest kids in Christianity. Don't you think the child will be willing to put up with going to church here and there if at the end of each year he/she is flooded with gifts worth hundreds of (insert currency)? Same with the Easter Bunny. Kinda like a refreshner bribe or a set up.

Why?

Why is religion losing its appeal?

Maybe because children want to learn facts and how to interpret these facts, what they mean, how they corespond to one another. Religion is factless. Parents send their children to school to learn the facts of grammar, speech, science, etc. But then (some) send them to church to learn about material uncorroborated with facts. What a crazy world.