Santa Claws, Santa Clause Or Santa Cause?

Hi Thack,
Good post. I can see you have, at least considered this. I also wonder why people shower their kids with gifts and treats on given traditional occassions, I mean - don't they love them as much, the rest of the year? And someone earlier said they adored seeing their kids surprised... How can they be surprised, when they expect to be showered with gifts on these occassions?
Anyway - babbling now.
Thank you Thack, have a fantastic evening.
Mark...

Well, as to the means in which I ponder things philisophically? Yes. There are plenty of serious ideas about trivial matters. I seriously study things which I enjoy. At times, I seriously consider my own laughter, though there is nothing in the least serious about it.

Yes, easily. Telling a child Santa Clause exists does not strike me as equivalent to a Ponzi scheme.

tell me about your oats

That's a good point, and if you want to see babbling... aren't traditions at times a bit of a social hinderance? A micro example would be the "elbows off the table" tradition. Is it really rude to put your elbows on the table because it bothers you because it bothered your father because it bothered his mother because it bothered her grandfather?

Hi Shapeless,
I think everyone who is truly christian, muslim or jew, or schism thereof would morally disagree. The resulting consequences of an untrue statement or action can vary by degree - But A lie is a lie - truth is truth and false is false. Either something is true or it is false. There is no room for manouvreability.
Thank you for replying though, shapeless.
Mark...

p.s. This is not always true. Roman Catholicism, for example, distinguishes between venial sins and mortal sins, the latter being fully condemning and the former being only partially condemning.

See my above post. In any case, I am neither Christian, Muslim, nor Jew.

Hi Thack,
No. Only the "chewing with the mouth open" is relevant to me, because it's obscene and noisy. But I agree, the traditionalists are so indoctrinated by their own family traditions and habits, they rarely, if ever, get a true glimpse of the reality beyond their own relevant comfort zone (this forum being one of) - Yeah, they watch the news, read the press, overview the global issues, celebrate on demand.
Anyway babbling again, I'm not criticising, just observing. Your turn.
Mark...

Hi Shapeless,
I don't percieve catholicism to fit in that group, just chose not to say. Neither am I, by the way. But a great deal of the world's peoples fall into that category and I feel their side to be relevant in this issue, at least to them anyway.
I never simply perceive that none of the above will attend. So the post is directed to them also.
Your opinion is respectfully valued, I might add, and I appreciate the time spent by you, in considering, and replying, greatly.
I again thank you, Shapeless.
Mark...

So what do you do if your young child of relative Santa Believing age walks in on you having sex or some other activity that you feel they are not ready to comprehend in a real manner? We lie to children all the time. Are you mad dad? No I'm blah blah blah. or is it going to be Am I pretty mom? No you really need to brush your hair, and your dad's side of the family is not very good looking, you sort of take after him.

We chose not to do the Santa thing with our kids, but there is no fault in make believe. In fact the cautionary tale has been used since prehistory to leverage this or that behavior from a kid, and no matter how scary the story is and how manipulated the kid actually was, almost all of them grow up to perpetuate the myth and regard it with nostalgia. One might look at Santa and other similar stories as family bonding rather than family destroying. Santa other than being a cautionary tale is also one of the pieces of the general Christmas Gestalt feeling that so many people love and crave at that time a year.

Hi Thack,
I meant YES to your last post - Excuse my hasty misprint.
Mark...

Hi Russ,
I completely understand where you're coming from on this, and I'm not saying I disagree.
Did you know that most people don't even know that Jesus was born in April. And that the 25th of december was the celebrated pagan birthday of Mithras. Therefore - even christmas is a lie. And I'm quite certain that Jesus wouldn't have given the thumbs-up to a festival of over-indulgence and falsity even if He was capable of celebrating the vanity of the day he left His mother's womb.

I think you should put a latch on your bedroom door, by the way, Russ.
Great seeing you here though, I've missed you.
Have a terrific day.
Mark...

I actually love the Christmas season. Looking beyond the marketable aspects of the holiday, the season is wonderful to me. I enjoy the colors and all of the lights. I watch A Christmas Story several times a year. I very secretly enjoy the tacky lawn decorations - for the kid in me. And there's even a kind of quasi-collective consciousness of just trying a little harder for others.
I can get on board with Santa for kids. I would rather not use him as a behavioral modification tool though.

Yes, they are - and they think believing in Santa Claus is living in fantasy land...

These guys will really hate me.

When my children at the toddler age would ask why, why, why after the hundrendth time about some useless insane thing, like why is the sun yellow, I'd start making up answers. Usually really crazy ones. I even told them I didn't go to work at xyz company, I am really a superhero.

There is nothing wrong with playful make believe. Kids don't grow up distrusting, they learn crucial social and communication skills. Humor, Banter, Hyperbole, Theatrics etc...

Hi Linkat,
Nobody's going to hate you for having an opinion. You have the right to one! Questions like this are only asked in order to further understand the variety of opinion, after all.

One of the principles of psychosis is the division of person from reality - Can someone define reality? No! So we're all bloody mad anyway.

Please - don't question your way of life, it is as correct as anyone's.
Happy everything to you Linkat.
Mark...

Good then I really am a superhero!

I agree completely. "Creativity" was mentioned too (farmerman?), I think that's an important component of make-believe.