Talking about Santa

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of hate Santa because “he” treats rich and poor children differently. Where is the magic in that? I try to focus on the richness of real love and the good feelings that come from human gift-giving and receiving.

Santa doesn’t treat kids differently based on their parent’s economic status. Where do you get that idea?

Not PP, but I think "Santa" treats kids differently because rich parents have the means to get their kid an Xbox from Santa, while poor parents don't. The conversations in school after break are always about what you got for Christmas and of course kids notice disparities in what gifts Santa gave them vs what he gave to others.

Right? It's like some of these posters forget that Santa is not, in fact, a real person. Of course rich parents can buy nicer "Santa" gifts for their kids than poorer parents. If Santa were real, presumably he would treat rich and poor kids the same, or even give poorer kids more expensive gifts, but since he's not, "Santa" treats rich and poor kids differently.

Yes, exactly. It’s just another way that lower-income kids and families end up feeling less-than during the holiday season. I think a PP’s point that we should love Santa because “he” gets people to donate money is ridiculous.

You’re generalizing. We’re rich but Santa only gives our kids one gift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Santa doesnt bring presents to our family. As we are jewish.

I am Jewish but Santa always brought me presents. Santa has no religious significance whatsoever and my family did not want us kids to feel left out.

Why couldn't your parents just give you presents at Hanukah? Did you actually believe in Santa?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of hate Santa because “he” treats rich and poor children differently. Where is the magic in that? I try to focus on the richness of real love and the good feelings that come from human gift-giving and receiving.

Santa doesn’t treat kids differently based on their parent’s economic status. Where do you get that idea?

Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in the region of Lycia in the Roman Empire, today in Turkey. Nicholas was known for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.

Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry.


Opposition to Santa, under state atheism

Under the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign. The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement.

In December 2018, the city management office of Langfang in Hebei province released a statement stating that people caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished.

Not PP, but I think "Santa" treats kids differently because rich parents have the means to get their kid an Xbox from Santa, while poor parents don't. The conversations in school after break are always about what you got for Christmas and of course kids notice disparities in what gifts Santa gave them vs what he gave to others.

Pretty early on, in first or second grade, the conversations around Santa are some kids telling other kids Santa doesn’t exist. We never played up Santa so I hope that wasn’t my kid, but who knows.

Point is, this is only a problem up to first grade, if that.

Kids understand from a very early age that it’s not a bougie Santa who is giving them gifts. They know it’s the parents, and they know from many clues (houses, cars, vacations) that some families are richer than others. If you’re complaining about income and wealth inequality and systemic discrimination, I’m right with you. But pretending this is a Santa problem doesn’t make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Santa won’t bring you presents because you are “another religion?” Where did you get that from? Nobody ever has said Santa only brings gifts to Christian children! Santa brings gifts to ALL children.

If your child has the propensity to taunt other children for any reason, that’s on you. You should have given the child clear rules and modeled good behavior.

This is weird post, because Santa has never been portrayed in literature, movies, etc, as only bringing gifts to Christian kids.

When NORAD “tracks” Santa on Christmas Eve, Santa is shown visiting countries all over the world, bringing gifts to kids all over the world.

Santa is traditionally depicted as having a naughty and nice list. Yes, the world has rules. Just like the Elf On the Shelf, who “watches” children to make sure they are on their best behavior.

Let me guess: Santa and Elf on the Shelf are Christian bigots. They are tyrannical Christian overlords, spying on kids without consent and judging them harshly and withholding gifts for naughty behavior.

Do non-Christian kids not have rules and expectations about behavior?

This is a doozy of a post and I look forward to the comments.

Santa demonstrably does not bring gifts to all children. Children whose parents don't celebrate Christmas, or don't do Santa, do not get gifts from Santa.

Yes, it’s the choice of the parents. It’s not “Santa” deciding to withhold gifts at Christmas from kids. If the parent wanted “Santa” to bring gifts, they have to buy gifts and put tags on them that say “from Santa,” hide them until Christmas Eve, and then put them under the tree after the kids go to bed. Everyone that has the means and ability can do so, if they choose. There are also multiple and numerous charities that will gift children gifts from “Santa.” Our school raised over $1k for gifts for lower income families and wrapped the gifts. It’s called an Angel Tree. Also, the principal and vice principal asked teachers to tell them if kids in their classroom didn’t have a winter coat and for sizes. They bought every child in need a warm winter coat and gloves and hat out of their own pocket.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know of any world where (1) the Christian kids bully the Jews and non-Christians over Santa or (2) the rich Christian kids bully the poor Christian kids over Santa giving them more gifts. You all must be living in a alternate universe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of hate Santa because “he” treats rich and poor children differently. Where is the magic in that? I try to focus on the richness of real love and the good feelings that come from human gift-giving and receiving.

Santa doesn’t treat kids differently based on their parent’s economic status. Where do you get that idea?

Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in the region of Lycia in the Roman Empire, today in Turkey. Nicholas was known for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.

Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry.


Opposition to Santa, under state atheism

Under the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign. The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement.

In December 2018, the city management office of Langfang in Hebei province released a statement stating that people caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished.

Not PP, but I think "Santa" treats kids differently because rich parents have the means to get their kid an Xbox from Santa, while poor parents don't. The conversations in school after break are always about what you got for Christmas and of course kids notice disparities in what gifts Santa gave them vs what he gave to others.

In our 2021 donor trends report, Donors: Understanding the Future of Individual Giving, Neon One combed through the numbers and found that, on average, December giving can accounts for roughly a fifth of annual nonprofit revenue.

According to the 2022 M+R Benchmarks Study, nonprofits raise anywhere from 17% to 31% of their online revenue in December, depending on their cause. On average, all nonprofits across every category raise 25% of online revenue in September.

On GivingTuesday, the global day of generosity that began in 2012, has only grown bigger and bigger with each passing year. In 2021, organizations participating in GivingTuesday raised over $2.7 billion in the United States alone!

According to CCS Fundraising’s Philanthropic Landscape Report, 50% of U.S. households give annually—and a whopping 81% of affluent households give.

The 2022 M+R Benchmarks Study states that the average number of annual gifts per donor increased from 2.1 to 2.7 between 2020 and 2021.

Christmas time is the time of year non-profits raise a ton of money. People (rich people especially) give gifts and donations to help poor people and poor families.

There are so many orgs that play Santa Claus and raise money to help others. The spirit of Santa really fuels the season and people feel the pull to help others.

The people on this thread who “hate” Santa and are complaining that Santa treats kids differently really aren’t good people nor are they part of the love and happiness that Christmas and Santa can bring to others…very sad and lonely people. Enjoy your miserable outlook and grinch-like life.

Perhaps some day your hearts will grow a few sizes, and you won’t be so miserable.

Yes, there are a lot of fantastic organizations that play Santa for families in need. There is still a disparity between the kids who go to school crowing about their new Xbox (and of course they are, because that's a very exciting gift) and kids who go to school having received something cheaper. This doesn't even have to be about families below the poverty line who get gifts from charities; it can be a difference between upper middle class and blue collar, or whatever you want to call it. That's not to say that the kid who got an Xbox is being intentionally mean, just an acknowledgement that "Santa" inherently gives economically-appropriate gifts and kids aren't going to be blind to that fact. But this is only tangentially related to the thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sort of hate Santa because “he” treats rich and poor children differently. Where is the magic in that? I try to focus on the richness of real love and the good feelings that come from human gift-giving and receiving.

Santa doesn’t treat kids differently based on their parent’s economic status. Where do you get that idea?

Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in the region of Lycia in the Roman Empire, today in Turkey. Nicholas was known for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious Christian with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.

Father Christmas dates back as far as 16th century in England during the reign of Henry VIII, when he was pictured as a large man in green or scarlet robes lined with fur. He typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, bringing peace, joy, good food and wine and revelry.


Opposition to Santa, under state atheism

Under the Marxist–Leninist doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union after its foundation in 1917, Christmas celebrations—along with other religious holidays—were prohibited as a result of the Soviet antireligious campaign. The League of Militant Atheists encouraged school pupils to campaign against Christmas traditions, among them being Santa Claus and the Christmas tree, as well as other Christian holidays including Easter; the League established an antireligious holiday to be the 31st of each month as a replacement.

In December 2018, the city management office of Langfang in Hebei province released a statement stating that people caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished.

Not PP, but I think "Santa" treats kids differently because rich parents have the means to get their kid an Xbox from Santa, while poor parents don't. The conversations in school after break are always about what you got for Christmas and of course kids notice disparities in what gifts Santa gave them vs what he gave to others.

In our 2021 donor trends report, Donors: Understanding the Future of Individual Giving, Neon One combed through the numbers and found that, on average, December giving can accounts for roughly a fifth of annual nonprofit revenue.

According to the 2022 M+R Benchmarks Study, nonprofits raise anywhere from 17% to 31% of their online revenue in December, depending on their cause. On average, all nonprofits across every category raise 25% of online revenue in September.

On GivingTuesday, the global day of generosity that began in 2012, has only grown bigger and bigger with each passing year. In 2021, organizations participating in GivingTuesday raised over $2.7 billion in the United States alone!

According to CCS Fundraising’s Philanthropic Landscape Report, 50% of U.S. households give annually—and a whopping 81% of affluent households give.

The 2022 M+R Benchmarks Study states that the average number of annual gifts per donor increased from 2.1 to 2.7 between 2020 and 2021.

Christmas time is the time of year non-profits raise a ton of money. People (rich people especially) give gifts and donations to help poor people and poor families.

There are so many orgs that play Santa Claus and raise money to help others. The spirit of Santa really fuels the season and people feel the pull to help others.

The people on this thread who “hate” Santa and are complaining that Santa treats kids differently really aren’t good people nor are they part of the love and happiness that Christmas and Santa can bring to others…very sad and lonely people. Enjoy your miserable outlook and grinch-like life.

Perhaps some day your hearts will grow a few sizes, and you won’t be so miserable.

Yes, there are a lot of fantastic organizations that play Santa for families in need. There is still a disparity between the kids who go to school crowing about their new Xbox (and of course they are, because that's a very exciting gift) and kids who go to school having received something cheaper. This doesn't even have to be about families below the poverty line who get gifts from charities; it can be a difference between upper middle class and blue collar, or whatever you want to call it. That's not to say that the kid who got an Xbox is being intentionally mean, just an acknowledgement that "Santa" inherently gives economically-appropriate gifts and kids aren't going to be blind to that fact. But this is only tangentially related to the thread.

DP. Again, most kids over 6 don’t believe in Santa and don’t think he’s being “unfair.” Probably many kids under 6 too. This is a problem of family income disparities, not a Santa problem, and the kids can see it even if you can’t.

[Anonymous]

Santa doesn’t visit kids who don’t believe. It’s that simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're Jewish and Santa comes to our house every year. Santa is not really a Christian figure, just one appropriated by Christianity a long time ago, so we don't see any relationship between Santa and other religions. I taught my child from an early age not to taunt other kids and to remember that not everyone celebrates holidays so it's best not to talk a lot about it at school.

It concerns me that OP thinks Santa is only for Christians, and makes sense that her kid might taunt other kids.

If your family enjoys the Santa tradition, I’m glad he visits you. Nobody else gets to dictate your household celebrations. However, your view on Santa is not widely shared. Santa is definitely associated with Christmas, and Christmas with Christianity.

I disagree. The majority of educated folks know that Santa has nothing to do with Christianity and don't feel any obligation to be Christian while celebrating a secular Christmas. Only Christians constantly whine about how everyone needs to put Jesus back into Christmas and how materialistic and secular it all is today, without realizing the irony of all of that being much older than Christianity itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're Jewish and Santa comes to our house every year. Santa is not really a Christian figure, just one appropriated by Christianity a long time ago, so we don't see any relationship between Santa and other religions. I taught my child from an early age not to taunt other kids and to remember that not everyone celebrates holidays so it's best not to talk a lot about it at school.

It concerns me that OP thinks Santa is only for Christians, and makes sense that her kid might taunt other kids.

If your family enjoys the Santa tradition, I’m glad he visits you. Nobody else gets to dictate your household celebrations. However, your view on Santa is not widely shared. Santa is definitely associated with Christmas, and Christmas with Christianity.

I disagree. The majority of educated folks know that Santa has nothing to do with Christianity and don't feel any obligation to be Christian while celebrating a secular Christmas. Only Christians constantly whine about how everyone needs to put Jesus back into Christmas and how materialistic and secular it all is today, without realizing the irony of all of that being much older than Christianity itself.

Outraged pagan has entered the thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're Jewish and Santa comes to our house every year. Santa is not really a Christian figure, just one appropriated by Christianity a long time ago, so we don't see any relationship between Santa and other religions. I taught my child from an early age not to taunt other kids and to remember that not everyone celebrates holidays so it's best not to talk a lot about it at school.

It concerns me that OP thinks Santa is only for Christians, and makes sense that her kid might taunt other kids.

If your family enjoys the Santa tradition, I’m glad he visits you. Nobody else gets to dictate your household celebrations. However, your view on Santa is not widely shared. Santa is definitely associated with Christmas, and Christmas with Christianity.

I disagree. The majority of educated folks know that Santa has nothing to do with Christianity and don't feel any obligation to be Christian while celebrating a secular Christmas. Only Christians constantly whine about how everyone needs to put Jesus back into Christmas and how materialistic and secular it all is today, without realizing the irony of all of that being much older than Christianity itself.

DP and I agree. All these people claiming that Santa is only for Christians obviously grew up in a religious community so their experience is that Santa = Christmas = religion. I grew up in an entirely non-religious community. No one practiced religion or really discussed it around me until I was probably in high school. We all did “Christmas” with Santa and a tree. There was nothing religious about it. Just a fun time to decorate a tree, have a party, and give each other gifts. MY experience is that Christmas is not religious and most people I would celebrate with don’t consider it religious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know of any world where (1) the Christian kids bully the Jews and non-Christians over Santa or (2) the rich Christian kids bully the poor Christian kids over Santa giving them more gifts. You all must be living in a alternate universe.

+1

It’s another fake thread by the anti-religion and anti-Santa trolls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the taunting occurs around Easter historically.

Christian children taunt other children at Easter? No, kids eat chocolate bunnies and hunt for colorful easter eggs with candy or small toys inside. Never in my life have I heard children taunting other children at Easter time.

There are some very weird people posting here, making odd and false accusations. It’s disturbing.

There definitely has been, probably more recently than you think, taunting of non-Christian kids around Easter. Specifically, Jewish ones, who were historically blamed for killing Christ. If you go back in history -- and again, not as far back as we all might like to think -- it went far beyond taunting to actual violence.

No one here is suggesting that this sort of thing still goes on, to be clear. But it's also a little naive to pretend it has never happened.

DP. I agree, this used to happen. Nobody said it didn’t. But show us an example of this happening today.

I specifically said no one was suggesting it was still happening today. And the post I replied to said this:

"Christian children taunt other children at Easter? No, kids eat chocolate bunnies and hunt for colorful easter eggs with candy or small toys inside. Never in my life have I heard children taunting other children at Easter time.

There are some very weird people posting here, making odd and false accusations. It’s disturbing."

Which is basically someone saying it didn't happen.

This is a thread about Santa.

Great! I was replying to a PP who was talking about the Easter bunny.

You really take the cake. She mentioned bunnies in passing in response to you bringing up Easter.

Sorry, no, multiple other people brought up Easter well before I replied to her, I never mentioned it until after the post about bunnies and eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're Jewish and Santa comes to our house every year. Santa is not really a Christian figure, just one appropriated by Christianity a long time ago, so we don't see any relationship between Santa and other religions. I taught my child from an early age not to taunt other kids and to remember that not everyone celebrates holidays so it's best not to talk a lot about it at school.

It concerns me that OP thinks Santa is only for Christians, and makes sense that her kid might taunt other kids.

Out of curiosity: Why does Santa come to your Jewish house? He may not have anything to do with Christianity in your mind, but he very clearly also has nothing to do with Judaism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the taunting occurs around Easter historically.

Christian children taunt other children at Easter? No, kids eat chocolate bunnies and hunt for colorful easter eggs with candy or small toys inside. Never in my life have I heard children taunting other children at Easter time.

There are some very weird people posting here, making odd and false accusations. It’s disturbing.

There definitely has been, probably more recently than you think, taunting of non-Christian kids around Easter. Specifically, Jewish ones, who were historically blamed for killing Christ. If you go back in history -- and again, not as far back as we all might like to think -- it went far beyond taunting to actual violence.

No one here is suggesting that this sort of thing still goes on, to be clear. But it's also a little naive to pretend it has never happened.

DP. I agree, this used to happen. Nobody said it didn’t. But show us an example of this happening today.

I specifically said no one was suggesting it was still happening today. And the post I replied to said this:

"Christian children taunt other children at Easter? No, kids eat chocolate bunnies and hunt for colorful easter eggs with candy or small toys inside. Never in my life have I heard children taunting other children at Easter time.

There are some very weird people posting here, making odd and false accusations. It’s disturbing."

Which is basically someone saying it didn't happen.

This is a thread about Santa.

Great! I was replying to a PP who was talking about the Easter bunny.

You really take the cake. She mentioned bunnies in passing in response to you bringing up Easter.

Sorry, no, multiple other people brought up Easter well before I replied to her, I never mentioned it until after the post about bunnies and eggs.

Are you really going to make someone do this? You brought Easter up out of nowhere at 20:43 with this post: "Most of the taunting occurs around Easter historically."