Welcome to December. Spirit? No? I'm iffy until just before Christmas Eve, not that I'm a scrooge, I'm just accustomed to living alone. Also, I've been over the commercialism for many years and try now to dwell on the deeper meanings of the season. I offer you several options to consider when thinking of the story of Santa Claus, whether "he" exists, and how he gets around.
Let's start here with the traditional approach.
So what's your version of the Santa Claus story? Not the religious thing, just the fat man in the suit thing, the guy down the chimney, what you think the red suit stands for and who you think is in it....I'm just wondering....
Here's a famous one: Yes, Virginia, there is.....well, you know how that goes. Here is the brief letter written in 1897 by 8 year old Virginia O'Hanlon to the editor of New York's Sun newspaper and selected text from the unsigned editorial response, later attributed to Francis Pharcellus Church....the editorial in its entirety can be located here:
"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?"VIRGINIA O'HANLON."115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."
VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge................There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? ....................Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
And then there's another theory, No Virginia, there is no.... a different and more scientific response the the child's question (one I have humorously enjoyed reading), written by English writer Peter Thorne, the ending of which follows and the complete text found here:
.............."Finally, my angel. 353,000 tons travelling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second each. In short they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporised within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force."
My sweetest treasure looked at me with a glisten in her eye. "Oh Daddy, you mean.....?" "Yes, my darling", I replied grimly "If Santa ever did exist he must certainly be dead now!"
Well, I won't pretend that Christmas Day went well. Virginia did not seem her usual joyful self and I did not relish the sight of next door's cat eating my Christmas dinner. The throbbing from the swelling on my head where my wife broke the bottle of vintage claret subsided somewhat with the alternate distraction of seeing my favourite pipe being chewed by the dog. Nevertheless, I feel the clarity of science will serve my daughter well in her future years - although I may need to obtain a court order to enable me to see it. However, one thing I can say for certain, I will not forget the Christmas Eve when I said "No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus".
Well then....
I have to say, I like both Church's editorial and Thorne's version of what the editorial could have been. So this brings me to my own version of Santa Claus. IF there is a Santa Claus, I think we have all accepted without much question that it is a man wearing the suit. Fine with me. I wouldn't want all that red and white on. I'd sweat. And no self-respecting female would want that "hat hair" problem at then end of the day. Then there's all that running around and being behind reindeer, well, you know how they can be on a long flight.....so I've decided that if anyone is coming down my chimney, if there is a shot in the dark that there is a man with pets who wants to visit me at Christmas, it should be one of the three below, and they may arrive empty handed for all I care. I have just about everything I need. The rest, I think, ....oh, wait, I should order hats. Every Santa needs a red hat.......it's not so far fetched you know. I live a stone's throw from Hollywood, land of the Hype, and isn't this the season for hopes and dreams, for believing in the impossible and achieving all things beyond our own expectations for ourselves and others? Isn't this the season for giving?
.....need I say who this is....
"L" must be for luscious
ah....
Send me a photo of your favorite Santa and I'll be happy to post them for this month. Male, female, pet....dream.....send me the photo. Let's celebrate our Santa's and our miracles no matter what our belief systems are. This month is about fun, silliness, and holiday "things".....
Namaste'
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