By
Linda Adams
Dead Rebel Of The Week
~ Santa Claus ~
Santa is dead in America. We killed him.
That once mysterious and magical spirit of unconditional and unprovoked generosity is gone. What we have in its place is a shell – a farce, a cartoon, a jester’s song and dance. Gone is the heart of the legend. And without a heart, one cannot live, not even a myth.
Santa is dead. We killed him.
You know the story, right? Early 17th century Dutch settlers brought with them to New York the legend of Sinter Klaas, based on the 4th century A.D. story of Bishop Nicholas, a wealthy man who lived in what is today known as Turkey. The Bishop was said to have been born into a great fortune, yet he remained generous and loving towards children. According to legend, Bishop Nicholas defied the times, gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled from place to place helping the sick and the poor. Often he tossed gifts through the bedroom windows of poor children, leaving behind him a trail of hope and smiles in times of sorrow and grief. He heard a charitable calling, and did what few people of his station in life would ever consider doing. He wanted to help the innocent. He wanted to change lives with gestures. Later, the Roman Catholic Church honored Nicholas and named him the patron saint of children and seafarers. December 6th, the alleged date of his death, became his day of honor. The early Dutch settlers Americanized the name and “Santa Claus” was born in America.
It wasn’t until 1823 that the popular form of Santa, as we know him in these modern days, developed in the United States. It was writer Clement Clarke Moore who fleshed out the jolly old man by naming the reindeer, making Santa’s laughs, winks and nods come alive and sending him up and down the chimney in the classic poem most commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas.” From the 1860’s to the 1880’s Harper’s magazine put the works to illustration and added more details. Soon children asked the inevitable questions, “Where does he go? Where does he live?” Thus, the fable developed. Finally, in 1925, newspapers revealed that Santa lived in Finnish Lapland, or The North Pole. Through the years, the legend grew and Santa Claus became a combination of many different characters and mythical creatures.
But, even as all of the details and stories were fabricated to soothe pop culture curiosity, one characteristic remained steadfast and true – the spirit of Santa Claus was all about the giving without the asking. Remember – the original myth of Santa portrayed him as a man who gave unconditionally, a man who followed his calling to give of his heart to those who needed the cheer. Eventually, the day of St. Nick merged with Christmas Eve, a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus. After all, didn’t baby Jesus receive gifts from those wishing to honor him?
Thus was born the tradition of giving and receiving Christmas presents; a tradition meant to signify the act of love and caring to those closest to each individual person. And the children – children get an annual visit from old St. Nick himself, Santa Claus, which is meant to show them they are loved in this world.
Yeah, that all sounds great. I guess Santa didn’t foresee the boom of the retail industry, discount shopping, the space age, the information superhighway, the age of technology, corporate America, credit cards, big business, The Apprentice, Microsoft, designer everything, X-box or free gift with purchase. The “Me Generation” has now begat the “Bling Bling Generation.” Targeted advertising, film, music, and even sports are feeding the frenzy as intensely as possible. It is all about status symbols, wearing the right clothes, having the hottest toys, living right and living well. The bigger the better. Anything less is unacceptable.
Welcome to modern day America. We killed Santa Claus.
Remember when Santa’s visit meant receiving that one “big” gift you dreamed of having for months with some smaller gifts and stocking stuffers thrown in? It was special. It was awe-inspiring. Would Santa come this year? Was I good enough? Do I deserve it? We moved this year – will Santa be able to find me? Oh, the Christmas Eve anxiety! The memories of those days are now called “nostalgia.”
Now, as soon as they can point and grunt, kids begin the “I want, I want, I want” chant that only gains speed as they grow older. And parents, the guilty “Me Generation”, give in to the kids. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars are spent on their children each Christmas – credit limits are exceeded - often for trinkets or the expensive toy of the moment. The result? Children expect it. They take the gifts for granted. The gifts no longer serve the purpose to make children feel the love and caring they need to thrive and hope; they serve to make them “popular” or “cool”. It’s a contest. The parents give because they’re supposed to, it’s Christmas after all, and the children take their giving (or, should I say, Santa’s) for granted. If they don’t receive exactly what they’ve said they want, there’s tears and pouting on Christmas morning. It’s an exchange of empty materialistic nothingness. Gone is the childish joy of receiving something special, of feeling as if you’ve been singled out in the world to receive a blessing. It’s all about the Bling.
The traditional exchange of Christmas gifts is usually more of the same obligatory donations to the annual “I’m supposed to do this” campaign. How many of you dread to do your Christmas shopping? It’s a chore, isn’t it? You’re supposed to spend x amount of dollars on each person because they spend x amount of dollars on you each year. Then there’s the necessity to get a gift receipt because they probably won’t like what you buy them anyway. Basically, we give out of obligation, not the desire to recognize a person’s place in your life. And that obligation is getting bigger and bigger. Holiday retail profits in 2004 increased 8%, with an additional 2 to 4% increase expected this year. Last year, Americans spent $460 billion during the holiday season.
Bishop Nicholas was a rebel of his times. He abdicated his position of privilege for the simple purpose of helping those in need. Although the memory of his lifetime is immortalized in the legend popularly known as “Santa Claus”, the original purpose and heart of his giving lay forgotten and buried beneath the shards of hastily ripped wrapping paper and peel and stick bows. In this day of mass commercial appeal and profit of everything from toilet paper to religion to holidays, it’s sad to say that Santa Claus, as we knew him, is dead in America.
