Re-thinking Santa
Re-thinking Santa
Updated 09:33pm (Mla time) Dec 25, 2004
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A11 of the December 26, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
ONE recent evening, while we were driving by our village gate, we espied the huge resin Santa that stands guard over it. Our daughter wondered out loud why, when our house is crammed with my belen collection every year, we don't use more Santas in our Christmas decor. In fact, the only Santas among our holiday trimmings are a few miniature "mutant" Santas my husband won in a 7-11 raffle.
I explained that I never really believed in the Santa myth, since my parents couldn't be bothered to go through the whole gift-giving charade, nonchalantly signing their gift cards with "Love from Papa and Mama." I followed their example when I had children of my own, but that didn't stop the two of them from imbibing the myth, and each year we would find a "letter to Santa" taped on their bedroom door, invariably containing a gift wish list, topped by that one Christmas when our son asked Santa to "give me my own room."
And that's the one thing about Santa that has bothered me all these years. Santa has become a symbol not of generosity and magnanimity, as the story of St. Nicholas is meant to be, but an icon of the worst aspects of the holiday season: materialism, excess and greed.
Maybe that's why I collect manger scenes, being my own individual way of righting the skewed priorities of Christmas as we know it today. Instead of focusing on the antics of a fat old man in a red suit delivering gifts to children on Christmas Day, we should return the spotlight to the origins of this Christian holiday, the birth of the Son of God, who chose to be born to a poor couple in the humblest of places, sharing his Nativity not with the rich and powerful but with shepherds, farm animals and angels.
Beside that compelling story and powerful symbol, I think Jolly Old St. Nick pales in comparison! Who needs Santa, right?
* * *
IT was while watching "Polar Express" that I finally understood the need for Santa Claus.
For those who have yet to see the film, it's the animated version of a children's book about a boy, on the cusp of adolescence, who's starting to doubt the existence of Santa Claus. Despite the signs telling him otherwise, the boy still wants to believe, especially since his younger sister is an ardent believer.
On the night before Christmas, the boy is wakened from sleep by the arrival of the "Polar Express," a train managed by a crusty conductor (Tom Hanks, who also voices the boy and other characters) that brings children to the North Pole for an extra-special treat: meeting Santa face-to-face and paying a visit to Christmas town.
The filmmakers said they wanted the animated movie to retain the "look" and feel of the book, which became a contemporary classic upon its publication. And indeed "Polar Express" brings to life every facet of the Santa myth, answering every question that ever occurred to every child thinking about Santa Claus and his complex operations.
How does Santa "keep" his list? With the help of an army of elves who keep a computerized data bank of the world's children. How are all the gifts prepared and gift-wrapped? With an assembly line that ends in a humongous funnel that drops the gifts into Santa's giant sleigh. And how does Santa know what gifts to give? By reading into the minds and hearts of all those who believe.
* * *
THAT was when it struck me. Santa is a Christmas story for a secular world. We all need our traditions and children especially need a back-story to tell them why, on this one day of the year, we celebrate by getting together, sharing a meal and exchanging gifts.
Santa is especially popular in the United States, in a society where people of all races, ethnicities, faiths and beliefs strive to live together in harmony and to unite around a common culture despite their many differences and religions. Santa is thus a uniting factor, a "harmless" symbol of holiday cheer and generosity who doesn't provoke religious questions or offend religious sensibilities.
Though Christmas is and should be primarily a religious celebration, it is now no longer exclusively the domain of Christians. It has been commercialized and homogenized, true, but it has also served to bring the entire world together in good cheer and company at least one day a year.
Santa Claus, then, is a symbol around whom young people, and people young-at-heart, can accept without question or rancor, a myth easily accessible and acceptable, a symbol against whom we can bounce off our deepest aspirations, yearnings and hopes. It isn't the jolly old man's fault that he has come to mean wish lists and gifts to children, who are simply responding to the signals sent by the adults around them.
Maybe there can be room for Santa in my home at Christmas, after all.
* * *
EVEN the most ardent of Santa fans, though must find this message, sent to me by TV director Ida Vargas, funny and enlightening.
"According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring.
"Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl. We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat-ass man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost."
And that would be, of course, because the female reindeer would have first bothered to read the maps before setting off, and when they strayed, they would not have been ashamed to ask directions from utter strangers.
Updated 09:33pm (Mla time) Dec 25, 2004
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A11 of the December 26, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
ONE recent evening, while we were driving by our village gate, we espied the huge resin Santa that stands guard over it. Our daughter wondered out loud why, when our house is crammed with my belen collection every year, we don't use more Santas in our Christmas decor. In fact, the only Santas among our holiday trimmings are a few miniature "mutant" Santas my husband won in a 7-11 raffle.
I explained that I never really believed in the Santa myth, since my parents couldn't be bothered to go through the whole gift-giving charade, nonchalantly signing their gift cards with "Love from Papa and Mama." I followed their example when I had children of my own, but that didn't stop the two of them from imbibing the myth, and each year we would find a "letter to Santa" taped on their bedroom door, invariably containing a gift wish list, topped by that one Christmas when our son asked Santa to "give me my own room."
And that's the one thing about Santa that has bothered me all these years. Santa has become a symbol not of generosity and magnanimity, as the story of St. Nicholas is meant to be, but an icon of the worst aspects of the holiday season: materialism, excess and greed.
Maybe that's why I collect manger scenes, being my own individual way of righting the skewed priorities of Christmas as we know it today. Instead of focusing on the antics of a fat old man in a red suit delivering gifts to children on Christmas Day, we should return the spotlight to the origins of this Christian holiday, the birth of the Son of God, who chose to be born to a poor couple in the humblest of places, sharing his Nativity not with the rich and powerful but with shepherds, farm animals and angels.
Beside that compelling story and powerful symbol, I think Jolly Old St. Nick pales in comparison! Who needs Santa, right?
* * *
IT was while watching "Polar Express" that I finally understood the need for Santa Claus.
For those who have yet to see the film, it's the animated version of a children's book about a boy, on the cusp of adolescence, who's starting to doubt the existence of Santa Claus. Despite the signs telling him otherwise, the boy still wants to believe, especially since his younger sister is an ardent believer.
On the night before Christmas, the boy is wakened from sleep by the arrival of the "Polar Express," a train managed by a crusty conductor (Tom Hanks, who also voices the boy and other characters) that brings children to the North Pole for an extra-special treat: meeting Santa face-to-face and paying a visit to Christmas town.
The filmmakers said they wanted the animated movie to retain the "look" and feel of the book, which became a contemporary classic upon its publication. And indeed "Polar Express" brings to life every facet of the Santa myth, answering every question that ever occurred to every child thinking about Santa Claus and his complex operations.
How does Santa "keep" his list? With the help of an army of elves who keep a computerized data bank of the world's children. How are all the gifts prepared and gift-wrapped? With an assembly line that ends in a humongous funnel that drops the gifts into Santa's giant sleigh. And how does Santa know what gifts to give? By reading into the minds and hearts of all those who believe.
* * *
THAT was when it struck me. Santa is a Christmas story for a secular world. We all need our traditions and children especially need a back-story to tell them why, on this one day of the year, we celebrate by getting together, sharing a meal and exchanging gifts.
Santa is especially popular in the United States, in a society where people of all races, ethnicities, faiths and beliefs strive to live together in harmony and to unite around a common culture despite their many differences and religions. Santa is thus a uniting factor, a "harmless" symbol of holiday cheer and generosity who doesn't provoke religious questions or offend religious sensibilities.
Though Christmas is and should be primarily a religious celebration, it is now no longer exclusively the domain of Christians. It has been commercialized and homogenized, true, but it has also served to bring the entire world together in good cheer and company at least one day a year.
Santa Claus, then, is a symbol around whom young people, and people young-at-heart, can accept without question or rancor, a myth easily accessible and acceptable, a symbol against whom we can bounce off our deepest aspirations, yearnings and hopes. It isn't the jolly old man's fault that he has come to mean wish lists and gifts to children, who are simply responding to the signals sent by the adults around them.
Maybe there can be room for Santa in my home at Christmas, after all.
* * *
EVEN the most ardent of Santa fans, though must find this message, sent to me by TV director Ida Vargas, funny and enlightening.
"According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers until after they give birth in the spring.
"Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl. We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat-ass man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost."
And that would be, of course, because the female reindeer would have first bothered to read the maps before setting off, and when they strayed, they would not have been ashamed to ask directions from utter strangers.
posted by Dante at 10:15 PM
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