What does Santa Claus mean to you?

Question

We invent mythical creatures such as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. Some even include God in this. Why is it that we appear driven to create fanciful and splendid creatures such as these?

simply M3 - of course I did. We who had nothing kept the folorn hope that there was justice in world and that someone would give us what we so desparately desired.

Generally speaking, our parents and now us, used the mythical creatures to make us behave. Then, a bit later in life, to comfort us in our losses and pains. They also provided an simple and effective "escape clause" for them when things didn't go quite right.

Answer 1

Hold on there! Who says Santa Claus is 'mythical'? Now I'll grant you that there is no person who lives at the north pole, flies through the air with magic reindeer, and by himself distributes presents to everyone on the planet. That's ridiculous. But what about the rest of it?

I think there are people who observe if others are 'naughty' or 'nice' by their standards. And they do respond to those perceptions with their generousity. Some of them even prefer to be anonymous and so are happy to permit the illusion of Santa Claus. But like every illusion, there is something going on behind the scenes, neh?

If you told children that they could behave any way they liked and still expect rewards in the world, this would be a lie ten times bigger than any number of Santa Clauses. Santa, like many folk tales, are fictional stories meant to disguise a truth and make it more palatable. In this case, it is that if you wish to live in a society, you must conform to its standards or mark yourself as its enemy... even as a child. Few children are likely to understand the truth put so baldly as that, nor would it necessarily be a kindness to do so.

But at the core, there IS a Santa Claus. Of a sort.

Answer 2

Santa Clause is English. He's the big guy that goes around and gives gifts to everyone on Christmas. I'm not really sure what you mean. If you mean that "santa" is Spanish, you're right. I suppose what you want to know is that "Santa Claus" can mean "Saint Clause." In Spanish, you can say: a. Papá Noel b. San Nicolás 3. Santa Claus Also, if you go by the rules of Spanish, saying Santa Claus means a female saint.

Answer 3

Good question- I've been thinking about this myself lately.

Anyways, Santa Claus symbolizes innocence in my opinion. For instance, society always embed these mythical and magical creatures such as Santa Claus to protect their innocence, and to make them blind of the world around them from delusional magic. Although it's a bit strange that we would want to make children ignorant of the world around them, it's beneficial in a way because it stops them from growing up too fast, therefore seeing the harsh world in their eyes too soon.

Answer 4

~~~ Santa Claus has bad taste in clothing. He used to spy on me when I was a little kid,and that kind of scared me. He must have been blind or drinking too much spiked eggnog,because that "Jolly Old Elf" still brought me presents even though I was bad. He was a thief too. Sometimes he would steal the presents my parents had hidden in their closet,and wrap them with our wrapping paper...then give them to me & my siblings. That's all "Santa Claus" is to me now,a memory. I think we invent mythical ,fanciful and splendid creatures because sometimes reality is dull and lonely. And we get to have an invisible entity to get angry at when things aren't the way we'd like them to be. ~~~

Answer 5

Santa Claus is a commercialization of St Nickolaus by Coca-Cola and it sucks. A big fat lie. It means a constant deciet to the children by full grown adults who should know better. It means a lot of treacle sob story movies from Hollywood. It means more scams than L.A has and it suckers damn near everyone who comes close to the red clothed fat man myth.

Answer 6

For other uses, see Santa Claus (disambiguation).

1881 illustration by Thomas Nast who, with Clement Clarke Moore helped to create the modern image of Santa Claus.Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply "Santa", is a historical, legendary and mythical figure who, in Western cultures, is described as bringing gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day[1], or on his feast day, December 6.[2] The legend may have its basis in hagiographical tales concerning the historical figure of Saint Nicholas.

The modern depiction of Santa Claus as a fat, jolly man (or elf) wearing a red coat and trousers with white cuffs and collar, and black leather belt and boots, became popular in the United States in the 19th century due to the significant influence of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast.[3] This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, and films. In the United Kingdom and Europe, his depiction is often identical to the American Santa, but he is commonly called Father Christmas.

One legend associated with Santa says that he lives in the far north, in a land of perpetual snow. The American version of Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, while Father Christmas is said to reside in Finland. Other mythological details include: he is married and lives with Mrs. Claus; that he makes a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior; that he delivers presents, including toys, candy, and other presents to all of the good boys and girls in the world, and sometimes coal or sticks to the naughty children, in one night; and that he accomplishes this feat with the aid of magical elves who make the toys, and flying reindeer who pull his sleigh.[4][5]

There has long been opposition to teaching children to believe in Santa Claus. Some Christians say the Santa tradition detracts from the religious origins and purpose of Christmas. Other critics feel that Santa Claus is an elaborate lie, and that it is unethical for parents to teach their children to believe in his existence.[6] Still others oppose Santa Claus as a symbol of the commercialization of the Christmas holiday, or as an intrusion upon their own national traditions.[7]

Answer 7

They're good stories, that people have a desire to believe in as true, do to the good mysterious nature of them....

...who wouldn't like to believe that a jolly man from the North Pole, would sneakily give them gifts?

Answer 8

Imagine our life without Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, elf's etc. It would be completely boring!!!
We love these characters, and we all know that when we were younger we use to imagine/dream about one day being able to see them. So you tell me? When you were younger what did you think about these characters?

Answer 9

He is a charming and harmless little folklore character, nice chubby fellow, who gives gifts to children during the depths of darkness of the winter solstice in a year.

Let him be.

Answer 10

it creatures adds something magical and boring to our boring life. imgaine life without these imaginative character!