Does Santa Claus give presents to non-Christians?

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I don't know. Been a while since I viewed it from the perspective of someone actually believing in Santa.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I probably should school him in that at some point.  Hmm.  I think I will do that this year.  

Got around to that nicely today.  We talked about the tilt of the Earth on its axis and the orbit of the Earth about the sun, and about how this period of short days have always made folks worry about whether the sun would return.  The Inca had his special stone to which he tethered the sun, and the Celts had their huge bonfires, beginning around mid-November, to encourage the sun to start making its arc a bit more user-friendly.  Even in America the Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo got in on the act, with Kiva ceremonies dedicated to encouraging the sun.  It always culminated with a grand festivity, and in all cultures involved lights, and always in this dark, cold season of the year.

Eventually we got around to discussing the Saturnalia of the Romans, and about the fact that circa AD313 Constantin adopted Christianity as his religion, and the Roman state soon followed, and about how December 25 was arbitrarily chosen as a convenient birthday for Jesus, since folks were already partying at that time.  Of course we discussed the fact that the Eastern Orthodox folks celebrate Christmas on January 6, which the Roman Catholics call the Feast of the Epiphany, and the fact that serious party animals don't force themselves to choose, but rather celebrate the whole 12-day period beginning on December 25 and ending on January 6, culminating with a partridge given to one's true love.  We also talked about the Menorah and the nine candles--also a light ceremony--and the Diwali and the Deevapali of the Hindu and about many other Eastern light festivals, and about how it is common all over the world to have something about light and hope during the darkest days of the year.

Eventually, I got around to talking about Kris Kringle, the German guy, and his metamorphosis into the English Father Christmas, and about the Dutch Sint Niklaus, who was brought to the Americas by the Dutch and christened Sintnerklaus, and eventually Santa Claus, and about how it was here that he put on serious weight (I think the US Santa Claus became a fat guy very early on, even a century before anyone heard the terms "obesity" or "body mass index")  It was also here in the US that he got the glasses, and he got Mrs. Claus, and the red suit, and the reindeer, etc.  Later, he was back-exported in his modern form into Europe, and eventually into Asia, Africa, and Latin America, along with the new-and-improved Americanized version of Christmas.  

At no point did I feel it necessary to mention anything about whether Christians or non-Christians need to have different relations with Santa Claus.  Nor should I.  I've seen plenty Santa Claus toys in China and Japan, so I'm absolutely convinced that he visits Shinto, Dao, Buddhist, and atheist children.  And I have Hindu friends that get into Santa Claus as well.   Santa Claus loves all children.

I also told him about the Magi, and about how they were Zoroastrian, and that Zoroastrians were deep into astronomy and astrology.  We went on line and tried to find when the real Jesus was really born.  No one really seems to know when, and neither Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John say what time of year it happened, but Luke does say something about Herod and Julius, so you can pin it down to sometime between 4BC and 1BC.  As it turns out, Jupiter and Venus came together in a spectacular way in the constellation of Leo in the Spring of '2.  That's intriguing.  That could be the "star" that guided them.  Leo would have been associated with the Lion kingdom of Judea, and Leo was in the west, and the Zoroastrians expected some sort of Messiah being born.  So maybe it was the Jupiter-Venus conjunction in a descending Leo in the Spring of '2 that put these three Persian fellow on a path to deliver to the Christ child their wine, frankincense, and myrrh.  I told him not to put too much stock into any of the various astronomical theories thereunto appertaining, since none of the historical scholars agree, but it's an interesting theory.  And, though I didn't feel the need to mention it, my guess is that Santa Claus has some Zoroastrian children on his "nice" list as well.  Just a thought.

Anyway, it was a nice foray into the history of the various festivals of light that occur in the dark days of the year, and an education into the fact that materialism transcends and consumes all mankind, although it's a bit harder to fault them, morally, for it when materialism just means that you're ignorant and you're starving and you're just hoping to make it through another winter, so maybe a bonfire or a really long rope will hold the sun in place for a while longer.  Essentially, though, it's no different, and it's an instinct.  We eat, we drink, and we're merry, for tomorrow we may die.  Now, let me get at that punchbowl!

Merry Christmas!  

Great post.