Blogpost 8: Ho-Ho-Ho! Santa Claus is just a foax!

     Christmas. It is the most awaited holiday for everyone mostly, children. And we all know that Christmas is not complete without a bearded man with a big tummy wearing red fluffy clothes carrying gifts for everyone. The "Ho-Ho-Ho!" sound he makes enlightens our spirit and it makes us excited until the day comes.

     But did anyone ever wondered where did that fat guy came from? Is he really fat? is he really bearded? Is he really wearing red? And how did a massive-inch belly fitted into a narrow chimney? How can he ride a sleigh? How can he make those reindeer fly? Or even worst, Is Santa Claus real?

     Just to ruin your childhood, I want to share a certain article entitled "How did Santa Claus get started? From St. Nicholas to Kris Kringle of today" by Howard Koplowitz of ibtimes.com wherein he said the origin of the fat guy we are fond of. According to him, the origin of Santa Claus came from a monk named St. Nicholas who lived on 280 A.D at the country now known as Turkey. St. Nicholas was known for being generous tied up with the story of Santa Claus. There was a poor man who had three daughters. He was so poor, he did not have enough money for a dowry, so his daughters couldn't get married.One night, Nicholas secretly dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and into the house The bag fell into a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry! This was repeated later with the second daughter. Finally, determined to discover the person who had given him the money, the father secretly hid by the fire every evening until he caught Nicholas dropping in a bag of gold. Nicholas begged the man to not tell anyone what he had done, because he did not want to bring attention to himself. But soon the news got out and when anyone received a secret gift, it was thought that maybe it was from Nicholas. St. Nicholas eventually became known “as the protector of children and sailors,” with his feast day being celebrated on Dec. 6, the anniversary of his death. And as time goes by, during the 18th century, the legend of St. Nicholas was brought to America by the Dutch and he became known as "Sinter Klaas". The author also added, "Roughly 100 years later is when Santa Claus started to resemble the Kris Kringle of popular culture, when giving gifts to children around Christmastime started becoming mainstream."

     So, did I just ruined your childhood belief? Ever since, I have noticed that the story of Santa Claus giving gifts during Christmas and being generous to others is quite plagiarized. The story is so cliche during old times and the reason why some people said that they saw Santa Claus is because people dress-up as him.

    Of course, kids will take this hard to believe. It is so bad for them to take that something they believe is not actually real.

     A certain article entitled, "Pupils' Christmas ruined by vicar's Santa Claus origins story" by Steven Morris of theguardian.com wherein he reported that a vicar named Tatto-Brown caused a uproar on a primary school when he told them the origin of Santa Claus. He said that the children cried and their Christmas got ruined when he told them that Santa Claus was never real. Some parents even protested to let their kids out of the school because they might also tell the kids that Jesus' story is also not real. Later on,Tatton telephoned the school when he realized what he did and apologized to the parents and the kids. the The author also said that, "The school has accepted his apology. Tatton-Brown was getting on with his preparations for Christmas on Thursday and referring inquiries to the diocese of Bristol."

      See how influential Santa Claus can be? You can make a whole primary school go crazy by telling them that the man who gives gifts during Christmas is nothing but a imitation of a legend. But for me, it is better to tell them the truth than giving them false hopes.

     You might ask why I put Santa as one of the enigmas I am curious about. Well, because in the end, he might be real. He is real but he he doesn't exactly look like what we have imagined. He might've been one of the impossible and he can also be real.