According to the Lowell Massachusetts Sun – the Chelmsfords Byam Elementary School PTO holds a HOLIDAY GIFT SHOP every year to raise money for the PTO…two of the parents are asking the principle to lift the ban on…now get this…
…Santa, candy canes, stockings and all Christmas, Hanukkah and other “religious items”
This discussion obviously got WAY out of hand because during the meeting it was decided that…
…red and green tissue paper to wrap presents in were also banned because they looked too Christmasy!”
One of the parents – obviously NOT a very happy person – actually said…
“If we allow Santa, what do we say if a child brings in a swastika? Do we allow that too?”
Personally I cannot believe that there are people out there that could even THINK of comparing a Santa Clause to such a symbol of death and destruction as the swastika – but to actually have the parents of a child in elementary school making such a comparison is scary!
Yes, the original Santa Clause was a religious symbol, but that is so far from reality today that to say that it is more secular than religious is putting it mildly! After all – the depiction of the jolly old fellow that we know as Santa Clause bares very little if any resemblance to the religious men that the stories and image has evolved from!
The above photos captures the various faces of our “Santa” from his origin in 280 AD Saint Nicholas of Myra – shown above from a fresco in the Boyana Church near Sofa Bulgaria – until the most famous version of him depicted by Coca Cola in 1931. Over the years – he shrunk and became an elf – gained a little weight and when from a holy man to a pitch man!
In addition – while he was going through these physical and secular changes – he was also influenced in a large part by the Germanic god Odin and the holiday of “Yule.” The Odin influence is said to have brought us the flying reindeer, and the custom of hanging stockings by the fireplace – which somehow morphed from a flying 8 legged white horse, the exchange of presents, the Yule Log, and maybe the most secular of all – the Christmas tree.
His name over the years took many forms – but is said to have originated with St. Nicolas – Father Christmas – Kris Kringle – and then finally the Dutch Sinterklaas from which we in the U.S. derived “Santa Clause”
So how does one get to the point of comparing a secular jolly old fellow, who is meant to bring joy, peace and happiness to children world wide – not matter the religion or lack or religion – to a symbol that ONLY means hate, that brought so much death and destruction to the world?
You know something folks – it actually bothered me to simply put those symbols together on the top of this page – never mind compare them to one another as equals! They are not JUST polar opposites – but for anyone to even think of comparing them is beyond being politically correct – they are so far in outer space somewhere and in great need of an injection of humanity!
How is that this we as a society actually allow this kind of thinking to take place – AND – to shape the future of our most precious resource – our children. Our children are growing up much to fast these days – and I think we need to start letting our children be children – if only for a little while. Christmas is many things to many people – both religous and secular alike. But most of all – it is one of the happiest times of the year – were everybody except the most jaded of our kind think only of good things, happy things – and wish for peace among all men. Let our kids learn that lesson – let them enjoy the season – and let them…be…children.
To any and all normal people offended by the display of the swastika – I apologize . I really don’t think the parents who compared simply Christmas Ornaments to it - really understood what they were saying – and only an actually display in context may change the views of these ignorant, overly politically correct…people out there in Massachusetts. I can only hope…we can only hope.
