Santa Claus as illustrated in Puck (magazine) Image part of public domain |
Warning: This article contains some adult language that is not suitable for children
What is Christmas? For me, Christmas is a curious season
for irony and paradoxes. In fact, like many people, I have noticed that Christmas
has less to do with the humble man who was supposedly born on December 25.
Instead, another man dominates the scenes. Santa Claus in his iconic red suit
is the real king. He is the real Christmas symbolic deity that drives us to spend,
and we comply blindly. If we do not, we feel guilty. “Oh dear, I have nothing to give this Christmas,” we secretly tell
ourselves. Jesus of Nazarene is just the afterthought, maybe, after we feel
guilty spending more than we should and consuming more than we need. So we say,
“Praise the Lord” or “Peace on Earth.” These simple cliché phrases
are enough to justify our over-consumption. Perhaps, it is only fitting that
Santa, and all that he represents, overshadows the son of a carpenter because,
after all, a beverage company originally designed and peddled this jolly overweight
white man to the public. Business comes
first, above all else. Everywhere you go, we are encouraged to buy.