SANTA CLAUS IS REAL!

[Daryl]

SANTA CLAUS IS REAL!



Santa Claus is real. I see him all over the place. I believe he is real.

He wears red and white clothing. He wears a beard and sometimes dons his spectacles. Santa is often seen in the company of elves and sometimes even reindeer. I have heard him laugh heartily, "Ho ho ho!" He eats cookies and drinks milk, hot cocoa, and other seasonal libations. I have seen him do this on many occasions.

I have seen him in shopping malls, family gatherings, street corners, outside retail establishments ringing a bell next to a kettle hanging from a chain. He is all over the place. In fact just yesterday, I saw him in the convenience store where I was purchasing fuel, his face poking in the cooler digging through the various liquors - after all he is a very jolly fellow.

I have heard him speak. He has said many things. He tells us of the joys of Christmas time. Sometimes he speaks about the birth of the Savior and how he came into the world and how we need to remember Him at Christmas time. Mostly though, I just hear him say, "Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas." He's really good at that.

However, the real Santa is a far cry from the mythical Santa portrayed in music, art & film. He does not live at the north pole with elves. He does not fly across the sky Christmas Eve in a sleigh, delivering gifts to all the children of the world through their chimneys. He does not even reply to Christmas wishes addressed to the North Pole sent via government mail systems throughout the world - corporate employees do that. Norad Santa tracking? Same thing, government people making stuff up to perpetuate the myth of Santa's Christmas time travels. It's fun to tell these tales, but none of it is real.

[Daryl]

Santa Claus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Santa" redirects here. For other uses, see Santa (disambiguation).
This article is about the legendary character. For other uses, see Santa Claus (disambiguation).

The modern portrayal of Santa Claus frequently depicts him listening to the Christmas wishes of children
Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and simply "Santa", is a mythical figure with legendary, historical and folkloric origins who, in many Western cultures, is said to bring gifts to the homes of the good children on December 24, the night before Christmas. However, in some European countries children receive their presents on St. Nicholas' Day, December 6.[1] The modern figure of Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, which, in turn, has part of its basis in hagiographical tales concerning the historical figure of Christian bishop and gift-giver Saint Nicholas. During the Christianization of Germanic Europe, this figure may have absorbed elements of the god Odin, who was associated with the Germanic pagan midwinter event of Yule and led the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky. Over time, traits of this character and the British folklore character Father Christmas merged to form the modern Santa Claus known today.

Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, joyous, white-bearded man—sometimes with spectacles—wearing a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots and who carries a bag full of gifts for children. Images of him rarely have a beard with no moustache. This image became popular in the United States and Canada in the 19th century due to the significant influence of the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" and of caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast.[2][3][4] This image has been maintained and reinforced through song, radio, television, children's books and films.

Since the 20th century, in an idea popularized by the 1934 song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Santa Claus has been believed to make a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior ("naughty" or "nice") and to deliver presents, including toys, and candy to all of the well-behaved children in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He accomplishes this feat with the aid of the elves who make the toys in the workshop and the flying reindeer who pull his sleigh.[5][6]

[Daryl]

LOL. I guess this thread fell flat.

OK, try this one.

A man and a woman take a leisurely walk one Sunday afternoon along bank of a waterway. The man waxes strong with philosophies, while woman walks by his side listening faithfully.

What is there to learn?

[Jeremy]

While he might be real, it is difficult to have faith in something false...if not impossible. And because we can't exercise faith, we can't gain knowledge.

To gain knowledge of this being we need to have a belief that is true. If you are familiar with his true form you can gain knowledge of him.