Tag: Christmas

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Santa Claus Actually DOES Exist

Santa Claus in His Natural State

My last post told the story of Saint Nicholas on which Santa Claus is largely based, now let’s dive into how I have come to once again believe Santa is real:

Santa is only a few days away from his famous night ride but unfortunately, most adults these days don’t think he exists.

Now many of us think this because someone told us he’s not real at some point in our childhood. Whether it was a mischievous classmate who ruined the secret or a parent who also doesn’t know, most of us believe that because reindeer cannot fly and a jolly fat man would never fit down a chimney, that he does not exist.

But Santa Claus is real nonetheless. And I hope that when I am done here, you will understand how it’s possible that those dastardly classmates and silly parents are wrong.

As I hinted earlier a lot of the idea that Santa Claus doesn’t exist is rooted in the idea that only material objects exist. This is a grave error of the modern world and one that falls apart upon inspection.

Nearly everyone would agree that things like love or sadness exist. But you cannot physically hold or look at love or sadness themselves. A father teaching his son to fish is an act of love but it is not love itself. And when your favorite shirt gets a hole in it, that is sad, but it is not sadness itself. These concepts cannot be contained in a single body or container but we all know they are real. So now we have established that there are things that are real but are not concrete.

Yet we mostly think that, because no physical man in a sleigh lands on our roofs at night, he does not exist.

Santa is everywhere during the Christmas season. People dress up like him, talk about him, write songs about him, and make movies about him. So obviously he does exist and he plays out in the real world.

In this way, Santa is something like a spirit. It is in the spirit of Santa Claus that you give gifts to people on Christmas.

In our modern world we want a clear answer so it’s no wonder we say he doesn’t exist; there is no singular person we can meet that we can say is Santa. If you were to meet me you would easily be able to identify that this in front of you is Collin. Santa is harder to contain because he does not have a physical body but he is still a real being who acts in the world.

If we have no issue saying that immaterial things like love exist, then maybe we can consider that other immaterial things and beings like Santa exist too.

Thank you for reading.

Merry Christmas.

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Saint Nicholas and the Three Daughters

Saint Nicholas sneaks Dowries to the poor family

Ah Christmas, a time of celebration. Christ is Born! Glory to Him.

This is also a time of gift giving and tolerating relatives. But just what is the story behind jolly old Saint Nick? Why would a fat man come down a chimney and put gifts in stockings?

Well, Sinterklaas, commonly known as Santa Claus, is a Dutch legend which is based on one of the deeds of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the 4th century saint and bishop of Myra; a city in what is now Turkey.

I thought I would share the story which formed the basis for Santa Claus to get us into the Christmas spirit and maybe gain a better understanding of our history and traditions.

There are many different versions of this story so I will tell the one that I liked the most. But then, I compiled this story with elements from a few different versions so perhaps this is a different version entirely. Fortunately, all versions are more alike than they are different.

Saint Nicholas

Saint Nicholas and the Three Daughters

In the town of Myra, there lived a poor man who had three beautiful daughters. He could not afford a dowry and he soon would not be able to afford food or clothing. The man knew that he would have to turn his daughters into prostitutes so they could eat.

Now Saint Nicholas of Myra, who was the bishop that city, heard of this family’s despair and the evil plan that came from it and he decided to help them.

Saint Nicholas did not want to receive praise for the charity, so he waited until late at night when everyone was asleep. Then, he walked by the poor man’s window and threw in a bag of gold for the first daughter.

In the morning, the poor man found the gold and thought, surely, this was a gift from God.

The next night, Saint Nicholas walked by and threw in a bag of gold for the second daughter.

The third night, the man decided to stay up and try to find out who this secret benefactor was.

But Saint Nicholas was clever, and he had guessed that the man would try to catch him at the window on the third night.

So instead he snuck up onto the roof and dropped a third bag of gold down the chimney. The third daughter had washed her stockings that day and hung them over the embers to dry and it was in those stockings that the bag fell.

In the morning, she discovered the gold and told her father. With these three bags of gold, the father was able to offer dowries to good families for all three daughters. They praised God; He had delivered them from falling into spiritual destruction.

And Saint Nicholas always strove to keep his charity and good deeds secret.

And that is the story of Saint Nicholas and the Three Daughters. If you know a different version that you prefer then so be it. This is of course only his most famous deed among many but hopefully now you have a better understanding of who Saint Nicholas is and where this story comes from.

Thank you for reading and Merry Christmas.

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The True Meaning of Christmas

Firstly, Merry Christmas to one and all.

Secondly, I would like to examine two stories that we all know and love, and discuss what their purpose is beyond entertainment.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.

To explain what these stories want to teach us, perhaps we should look at what Christmas has become: a commercial holiday. After Thanksgiving, there is a mad dash to buy things. And at the end of it, we are all worn out and not very merry.

Perhaps, if there was not so much pressure on buying things, we would not find the holidays to be so stressful. We would not be so tired of Christmas before it arrives.

In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is guilty of allowing himself to be, well, a Scrooge, and ignoring the true meaning of Christmas. Ignoring the plight of less fortunate people and ignoring his family.

I find the Ghost of Christmas Present to be the most impactful of the three. The ghost uses his own words against him when Scrooge feels bad for people struggling. “Are there no poorhouses?”

Indeed, there are poorhouses and social programs. Indeed, Scrooge’s taxes do pay for them. And still, there are struggling people who government programs cannot or will not help. So perhaps something else is required. Christmas Present shows him the ignorance of his words.

Instead of Scrooge being mad that his taxes are not doing enough, perhaps he himself is not doing enough. Is he not of means? Can he not offer them alms or perhaps even a job, instead of hoping someone else will?

The same occurs when he witnesses the Cratchit’s Christmas dinner. The goose they eat is small. But it is all Bob Cratchit can afford on his wages. The wages that Scrooge is in charge of.

In the 2000 version of the Grinch’s story (the Jim Carrey one), the Grinch berates the people of Whoville for their commercialism. Proclaiming that all their gifts eventually go to him, on Mount Crumpit, in their garbage.

Why do the people of Whoville spend money and rush about to have the perfect gift if most of those gifts end up in the garbage?

The Grinch steals their Christmas. Or at least, he thought he did. But still it came. The people of Whoville gathered to sing even though they had no gifts and no roast beast.

The Grinch realizes that Christmas, “came without ribbons, it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.”

In his attempt to stop Christmas, the Grinch brought them a truer Christmas than before.

Take to heart the lessons of these stories, and consider how to apply them in your own life.

Perhaps you can give charity to those in need. Perhaps you can forgive someone who has wronged you. Or ask forgiveness for something you have done wrong. It is up to you.

Do not forget the Truth behind the tradition.

And remember, “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Thank you for reading, Merry Christmas, and God bless us, every one.