He could never catch on in mainstream society, could he?
He’s too spartan and spiky, too grimy and grizzled, and altogether too
suggestive of the Old Ways
and the Old Religion. Father Christmas has pagan roots, whatever we choose to
call him, and pagan ways are reserved for the small band of aficionados now.
Christmas is a Christian celebration, and western culture is
– for the most part and theoretically at least – the Christian homeland. And so
its primary icon has to be seen to spread the message of comfort and cheer to
interpret the tidings of comfort and joy. Father Christmas doesn’t match
Christmas as we now know it, whereas Santa Claus does.
But does he? Here’s a picture of Santa Claus:
What I see here has nothing to do with Christianity. He
smacks mostly of corporate America,
which has nothing about it remotely connected with the Christian message. And
we use him to coerce the children into the habit of proper obedience. ‘You have
to be good and do as you’re told or else Santa won’t come and bring you lots of
presents.’ I suppose it’s better than using Krampus since the carrot is less
severe than the stick, but the Santa Claus method has become a primary tool in
teaching children to subscribe to the imperative of material acquisition from
an early age. Not very Christian, is it?
‘You’re overstating the case,’ I hear you protest. ‘You’re
just being a killjoy. Santa Claus is nothing more than a harmless, sweet old
man and we love him.’
Very well. Have it your way. And maybe you’re right. But I
still want nothing to do with him.
(Then again, I recall my daughter occasionally reminding me
that ‘Santa’ is an anagram of ‘Satan’, so maybe he does have a connection with
the Christmas story after all.)
A Further Aside:
I have no idea what these ladies are about, but I'd be surprised if they're wearing underwear:
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