Is anyone ever really too old to enjoy Santa? Radio City's Santa is divine -- isn't he precious? Maybe he's the best ever. What a way to start the holiday season -- at Rockefeller Center, the day after Thanksgiving, in NYC. Some people believe Santa is too commercial. Actually, he's a very historical actual spiritual santo -- a holy icon and the idea behind gifts given without strings.
In the country now known as Turkey, there once was a Christan Bishop who put coins into the shoes of girls who, for whatever circumstances, couldn't afford a dowry. Hence the origin of Santa Claus. Santa is banned from the home of one of my smart blog friends, KChristyH. I wondered when my children were young if this was too commercial, too fable-like, too untrue to foster, too unreal to perpetuate. However, I love cultural traditions, history and all of the soupy sappy mix shared with loved ones. My first memories of Santa -- a stuffed one with a tiny bottle of coke in his hand. The epitomy of the brand - the Santa as the apex of consumerism. The commercial flood of Christmas makes me gasp for spiritual breath and feel the pressure to give something truly special on a timeline.
When we return to Santa Fe, Santa the Man/Saint is not as important as other traditions. Farolitos on Christmas Eve and poinsettas, that original Mexican flower, will be the main festivity along with the big midnight services at the Cathedral in the center of the town and the merriment of the bonfires, carols and crowds up and down Canyon Road. Santa of course here, is the spanish for Holy. Santa Fe... the city of Holy Faith.
Well, thanks, Pie. I didn't know that.
Posted by: Old Horsetail Snake | November 26, 2007 at 07:42 PM
You always have something fascinating to add to the conversation Mother Pie.
Here at the house of Antique, we love Santa and everything he stands for.
Posted by: Antique Mommy | December 24, 2007 at 05:53 AM