23 thoughts on “Santarchy”

1. terrorists in the war on christmas

2. Disgusting.

   Santa is NOT a force for commercialization. Sure, he’s been co-opted by Madison Avenue, but that’s not his fault. Santa Claus is one of the few incarnations of magic in the world and to those of us who know him and love him he is a symbol of all that is good in the world. That’s what Christmas is and should be, a time for men to shed their base nature and celebrate the goodness to which we can aspire. That is, after all, the message of Christ himself, and whether or not you believe in him, the season of Christmas can elicit those emotions – even from the hardest heart.

   In short, if you want to protest the commercialization of Christmas – put up a nativity in your front yard.

   And Howard – you need to read this book.

   1. Yup, if you want to protest the commercialization of Christmas, go out and buy one of the zillions of stamped out nativity scenes available for front yards.

      If you really want to protest the commercialization of Christmas – don’t buy things from major commercial retailers. (or at all)

      1. Oh, look. An oh-so-clever comment.

         You realize, of course, that by your definition, the next time you go the grocery store and buy a gallon of milk to pour over your Corn Flakes, you’re supporting the commercialization of cows. Better not buy a burger while your at it – some guy in a cow suit might piss on you.

      2. He didn’t say buy a nativity, he said put one in your yard. Home-made nativity sets exist. And are more common than you might think.

         Also… “don’t buy things from major commercial retailers. (or at all)”? I assume that you, as a proponent of not buying things at all, have no money? You didn’t buy a house, obviously, you built your own, but oh, hrm… that must have been fun, since you can’t buy matierials either. Where did you get them? You obviously raise all your own food, with a nice big garden and a herd of milk cows, or maybe goats. Though where you got the starting seed, and the cows, without buying any is a mystery to me. You must have some really good connections there.

         Don’t preach what you don’t practice.

         1. You guys proved my point.

            Quit worrying about the ‘commercialization’ of Christmas. EVERYTHING that can involve any sort of goods and services transaction is going to be commercialized.

            As for gifts? I probably bought more than I should, but I have the money for once in a very long time. Did I spend a lot? Not really. I bought things that I thought people would enjoy and/or use, and most of those cost less than $40.

            Since YOU can’t stop participating in the commercialization of Christmas, quit complaining about it. Putting a nativity scene in your front yard doesn’t do anything but show that you believe (worship style) in Jesus Christ.

            Is my family Christian? Yes (well, I’m agnostic, but the rest of them aren’t). None of us feel the need to push the religious aspect of it. We see this time of year as being a good time to remember family, friends, and what the season was for. Remember, not preach.

            1. Now if you had given any indication you were being sarcastic I would have respected your point. As it is, you sounded somehwat idiotic.

   2. I considered a pro-Santa comment, but you sir, said it much better than I ever could.

   3. Whoa whoa. Nativity scene these days = people trying to call the ACLU’s thunder down on you at the least and smashing things that belong to you up at the most (and then getting defended by the ACLU for their vandalism…).

      1. He he he. That reminds me of living in a tiiiiiiiiny little town down in southern Utah, where the town meetinghouse had once been an LDS church and, in fact, had been more or less loaned to the town and was still technically church property. The Christmas display there included a nativity, and somebody, (one single person, in a town of around 1,000,) raised a stink about it.

         So the town officials just shrugged, said they were giving the church back their property during December, and would the local church officials, (who were some of the same people, actually,) like to have the Santa and other secular displays removed?

         *Giggles* This amused me greatly at the time, and still does.

         1. Wow, that is pretty funny. 🙂

      2. Whoa whoa. Nativity scene these days = people trying to call the ACLU’s thunder down on you at the least and smashing things that belong to you up at the most (and then getting defended by the ACLU for their vandalism…).

         I’d love to see one documented example of that, especially the latter part. The only nativity scenes I know of that are objected to are ones put up at government expense on government property. If you put one up in your yard, it’s no-one’s business but your own, and the ALCU (or any other liberal bogeyman you want to name) is not going to be there trying to excuse anyone for trashing your personal property. If anything, the ACLU is going to be there defending your rights to have something like that on your property.

3. For the record, my principal gripe with Santa has to do with PEOPLE LYING TO THEIR CHILDREN.

   I love to pretend. I love to play. But I will NOT lie to my children. Christmas is plenty magical without me telling them some fat old elf is going to sneak into our house and leave us stuff. My kids are taught that Santa is who we say a gift is from when we don’t want the recipient to know who gave it. Santa is for Christmas-season doorbell ditching.

   Santa is a fun tradition which has been taken too far. He detracts from the religious message of the season. You may say he’s an allegory, but children don’t NEED allegories to learn the story of the Nativity. They don’t need to be lied to in order to be excited and full of wonder on Christmas eve and Christmas morning.

   I do protest Santa Claus, and I do so very effectively by stopping the transmission of the myth through my family.

   (For the record, I’m not going to lie to YOUR children either. I’m not going to volunteer any information one way or another, but they’d better not come asking, I tell you what.)

   1. Whee, I’m talkative tonight. I’m also of two minds about the Santa thing. I think that parents who go out of their way to try and “preserve the illusion” that Santa is real need to have their heads examined. That kind of elaborate lying is just not right.

      On the other hand, I was told about Santa, though just sort of generically, in a “yes, this present in your stocking is from Santa” kind of way, and figured out the truth at the ripe old age of around six years old, and the experience didn’t tramatize me at all. I can see how Santa can be a lot of fun, and I have kept with my parents wishes regarding my younger siblings, in that I never spilled the beans to any of them. But any kid that really, really believes in Santa past the age of eight or so… well, there’s a problem there.

      (Also why I CANNOT abide that horrible movie “Elf,” which my family owns. UGH. Cutesy, stupid, annoying, mindlessly pro-Santa drivel.)

      1. I had almost as much fun around Christmas trying to devise traps to catch Santa in (with my parent’s help, of course) as anything else fun. :p That jolly old fool managed to evade me every year.

         Well Santa, the HO HO HO is on you this year. My new plan is fool-proof.

      2. My sister in law is still traumatized about Christmas because of the lengths her mom and older sister went to in order to keep her believing in Santa into her teens. They’d put prints on the roof and out in the snow and bang on the roof and all kinds of crazy things. They still think it was charming and cute, but she feels betrayed.

   2. My boss is from El Salvador and he says that when he was growing up, he was told that presents come from the baby Jesus and Santa is just the guy who delivers them. Which is an idea I just adore, but yes, I don’t like lying to kids about Santa to insert some kind of fake magic into Christmas when they’ll only learn later it was all a lie, if a charming one. Why not focus on the real magical parts instead?

   3. I apologize if I came off as hostile toward you non-Santa traditions, Howard. I’m 100% behind the idea that you get to raise your kids the way you want.

      For the record, however, I have never lie to my children about Santa. When asked abut him, I tell them he is the spirit of Christmas. When asked if he is real, I say most definitely yes. If I’m ever asked if he’s a corporal person that lives at the North Pole I’ll have to admit that he is not, but for the time I assume his incarnation to bring joy to my fellow men, he is most definitely real.

      That’s why I continue to believe in Santa.

   4. This is my main protest too, and this same thing was noted in South Park as well. 🙂

   5. My family has a Santa tradition

      Though not that we children are ex-children and for the most part even ex-teens, “Santa” has become the giver of expensive gifts from an anonymous party, or gifts that many people have shared the cost of.

      It’s kinda become a way that a gift might be gived just for the purpose of giving a gift.

      I think perhaps that’s a way I’ll introduce it to my children, as a different form of Anonymous. A gift that doesn’t need a giver.

4. Disclaimer:

   Not all New Zealanders are rejects like that. Honest.

   Thank you.

   1. Re: Disclaimer:

      hehehe. well, some of us are though. You have to admit we do have quite a few loonies here, man. Most of them in govt. Or those damn Destiny Church f*&ktards.

      oh, and hey. This is Vespers from #Schlock_Mercenary

5. Why do you hate giftmas!

   ;P

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