Because it's fun!
Unless you're a...
Posted on 12/09/2010 6:01:36 PM PST by The Ignorant Fisherman
Parents, often without even realizing it, have been teaching their children the following things about Santa Claus
SANTA IS OMNISCIENT He knows how children behave throughout the year. The familiar song says, "He knows if we've been good or bad." Also he knows exactly what children want for Christmas even if the child does not have an opportunity to tell him personally.
SANTA IS OMNIPOTENT No storm is too great to hinder Santa from performing his annual miracle of delivering gifts throughout the world. He also defies the laws of nature by flying and by coming down the narrowest (and hottest!) of chimneys! Nor should we forget his amazing ability to produce millions of gifts throughout the year. Is anything too hard for Santa? With Santa all things are possible!
SANTA IS OMNIPRESENT To visit every home in the world in one evening requires nothing less than omnipresence! Every child in the world can wake up in the morning and say, "Santa has been here! Santa was present in my home!" Prior to Christmas Santa also appears at hundreds of street corners and shopping centers throughout the country at the same time!
SANTA IS FAITHFUL You can always count on Santa! Santa never fails and he never breaks his word. When Santa makes a promise he keeps it! When he promises a child a gift, that child will never be disappointed. Children are fully persuaded that what Santa has promised he is able also to perform. The child that believes in Santa will not be put to shame! Santa is totally dependable and trustworthy!
(Excerpt) Read more at theignorantfishermen.com ...
How about not worrying how people celebrate a particular holiday? I'm not a Christian, but I still enjoy Christmas!
Speaking as an unbeliever, let me assure you that I haven't hung my hopes and dreams on Santa since I was 5...
But seriously folks...magritte
That said, no, I don't celebrate Christmas, but I am offended at the atheist and non-Christian's assault on Christmas. If we as Christian's work among ourselves to get rid of Christmas Traditions in favor of more biblical Holy days, then fine, but I don't want anti-Christians to wage a war against my brother s and sisters.
Good for you.
Jack-booted Fun cop.
For good or bad they developed their own traditions, and most of those centered on the place of the shaman and the reindeer in their society.
Just about all the things Santa does have to do with images of real life in the North. The dwarves who build toys and tree decorations all year long to deliver them to customers on the shortest day of the year ~ that's all real stuff. The red and white suits ~ see Amanita Muscaria or "Little Red Man" in Sa'ami tradition. Reindeer with red noses? They got'em.
All of these images were developed in the North as part of a normal human urge toward definitization of society and normal moral behavior.
Although these people were among the least of peoples in Europe, their Christmas imagery seems to have overtaken and overpowered that of just about everybody else, or at least gotten an edge in. Their greater experience with Arctic weather probably has something to do with it ~ they certainly learned how to make long winter nights, and dreary skies, comforting signs.
What's not to like in that.
When the Sa'ami met the Norse they were all pagans. 500 years later the Norse were actually pursuing what amounted to a Protestant religious war in Northern Europe and the Sa'ami were still pagan.
What? You'd think Christianization would have proceeded with conversions in the Sapma as fast it did with all the other people living in Scandinavia ~ but it didn't!
Remember the sacraments. Now, what about the wine? Grapes don't grow in the Sapma. Plus, the Sa'ami do not, in general, share the genes that produce the enzymes that enable people to metabolize alcohol. This is a pretty serious thing because it means that whatever alcohol you consume will continue to circulate in your body until it turns into "other stuff" or simply leaks out. It's a deadly drug in the Northland.
And the bread? There's no wheat in the Sapma.
I suspect that given the high price of imported bread and wine Christianity hit a brick wall with the Sa'ami. It was not until the early 1700s, over 800 years since "contact" with the aliens that the Sa'ami were, for the most part, converted to Christianity.
Now that's "resistance"!
In the meantime they fed their own imagery to the outside world and the world ate it up. Bright, colorful, cheerful ~ and all in a snowbound setting at 50 below zero.
Christians should "lighten up" a bit ~ if these hardbitten people living at the edge of the frozen Arctic desert can create such social beauty then who are you to reject it so casually.
Your most precious sacrament didn't even fit in their world ~ but they figured out how to accommodate it.
Finally, these are the only people on Earth who appear to have never engaged in warfare before the 20th century, and then only because of Russian incursions and German occupation.
I'd suggest the folks who brought you Santa Claus and his reindeer may have got there before you. Jesus didn't need to visit them.
Santa’s description comes from the Master of the Wild Hunt. He skinned an animal and wore the bloody skin inside out. That’s why Santa has a red suit with fur trim...
“(Excerpt) Read more at”
Blog hits. The TRUE spirit of Christmas! Ka-ching!
Oh my goodness! You and I feel the same way about things! I don’t celebrate Christmas for the same reasons (pagan and etc.) and instead celebrate the biblical feasts. But I still don’t like the liberal’s attacks on Christmas because they are attacking it because of the Christ part in it. Stupid libs. They hate everything Judeo-Christian...
Because it's fun!
Unless you're a...
Why not just post it here at FR?
In the right company, long winter nights can be quite pleasant.
Grinch.
Just a thought.
Oh, BTW why do you excerpt your own articles? Why do you make your fellow freepers open a new window to read your posts? Why don't you just post the whole thing here?
Not in my home. Ask my 4 year old daughter the reason for the season and she breaks out in verse.
A. We do NOT make or force anyone to do anything.
B. There are great links to the story and posts that people can look up.
C. When I post a post FR it only allows me to post 300 words.
D. The majority of Freepers ussally just glance over what is posted on FR by us and begin to comment with out even reading the entire post. As you have done.
E. My Friend... what do you expect to find on the religious forum? If you read the post you would have to agree that that is what people think and have made Santa to be. I see it every year. It was an object post. You are free to do what you want. We NEVER stated that you could NOT do Santa at CHRISTmas. The Grinch comment shows and proves point D.
Merry CHRISTmas and Santa Bless!
I.F.
There are great links to the story and posts that people can look up. also when I post a post, FR only allows me to post 300 words. That is all there is to it.
If you are the author, then I do not believe that is true.
RM, is there any limitation on an author posting more than 300 words of his own work on Free Republic?
D. The majority of Freepers ussally just glance over what is posted on FR by us and begin to comment with out even reading the entire post. As you have done.
Mind reading is against the Religion forum rules.
I read your whole post and then I followed the link to your blog. I would prefer not to have to follow links to the stuff that freepers author. If a freeper authors an article, I think they should just post the whole thing here. After all, any copyright you claim is yours to release.
Merry CHRISTmas and Santa Bless!
FWIW there are a lot of Christians who would condemn you for saying Merry Christmas or in any way Celebrating the birth of Christ. They are grinches too.
When a blogger has written an article he would like to discuss here, he should post the entire article.
Repeatedly posting excerpts or links may be seen by the moderators as an attempt to exploit Free Republic to get "hits" to a personal blog.
And yes, mind reading is a form of "making it personal."
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
To P-Marlowe,
May Almighty God judge between you and me on your false perceptions, your accusations of me and your offensive position against me. What I stated is the God honest truth. As the RM stated you are taking it personal which I do not know why, especially if you listen the Dr. McGee and profess a saving relationship to Christ. If FR allows me to post the whole post and I will gladly do so. We make ZERO money from our Blog, our personal names are no where to be found and blog hits mean absolutely nothing to us. It is all about Almighty God getting the glory and us getting out is Word.
You and others have these little personal vendettas against us and like to cause trouble. If I was in a gross violation of FR policies then.. well. But it seems that I am not. I contribute freely to this organization (FR) and promote its site continually (in which also I am NOT paid on penny by FR for this free advertising).
There are countless of people from many different organizations that post their articles from their publications and websites under their own call names constantly. I am just up front and honest about it and who I am.
I know with scoffers it usually has to do with getting a reaction in stead of solving a problem… so I know that this reply is most likely to fall on deaf ears.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
The Ignorant Fisherman
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