" Naughty or Nice? Following Santa's motto"
"You don't want to be on Santa's naughty list do you?" How many times have you heard those words as a child? Do those words still work today? Santa and his mystical abilities to know everything about everyone in the entire world, awed me as a child. Growing up I continually found myself replaying those words and applying them in my actions to be good, loving, peaceful, selfless and kind to others. Inside us are these traits we can surely better ourselves working on. Life is a busy one, though Santa still made the time, one man spreading joy worldwide. Would it hurt us to at least try?
In today's world, Santa has been completely discredited. Standing as a source of entertainment just for fun. His naughty or nice list crumbled up and tossed in the trash. Even knowing right
…show more content…
In this case has done as such. Santa was every parents wing man to keep their children on the straight and narrow. Children learned the importance of Santa's motto and by reflecting it in their life how even the simplest true hearted deed, could bring forth a big positive change. It gave the knowledge and confidence to make a difference. Instead parents become guilt ridden and buy the present anyway. This defeats what the list was all about and hour children learn nothing. No lessons no growth just stuck in the mold. Was is so bad to keep a bit of hope?
How much a better person we all could be? More kind, loving, giving, peaceful and selfless. The power of what one simple list of naughty or nice could do. Now people could care less. Santa is no longer a mystical mystery. The man who leaves coal in your stocking for being naughty. Who rewards you on Christmas day for being nice. What if? It sure makes you wonder. If we never knew the truth of this small symbol of hope, how would the world be
Evidently, myths have become the culprit of traditions. That being said, the contemporary and ancient myths of Santa Claus and Krampus can only be understood by determining the elements that devise their entireties. Both narratives involve elements of opposition, trickery, mythemes, repetition, symbols, and ritualistic processes all of which support the structure of each holiday myth and tradition. Overall, the individual elements facilitate a valid, detailed compare and contrast analysis when examining the myths of Santa Claus and Krampus in a North American culture.
Robin Sharma, a famous writer, once said, “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” Many people believe that change is a very big decision. It takes time and can get a little messy on the way. The truth, however, is a small decision, Like donating money for the poor in need. Unfortunately, in the play, A Christmas Carol, the main character, Scrooge, is a selfish miser. Fortunately, by the end of the play, Scrooge realizes that he was selfish and no good and changed his ways. For example, he donated to the poor.
Scrooge was always mean to everyone. They did not like him. He was visited by three ghosts that taught him a lesson. He started being nice. “Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all. . . He was a second father. . . [to Tiny Tim] His own heart laughed.” (Dickens 64). Doing nice things for people can make people happier too. The Grinch, as well as Scrooge, hates Christmas and he expresses it. The Whos hate him for it. He takes the presents of all the Whos, he is about to throw it off the mountain. The Grinch hears a sound. It is them. They are singing, despite the fact their Christmas is ruined. He returned all their gifts and celebrates Christmas with them. He is finally loved by the Whos. Doing nice things for people can make a person happy as well. Although, Scrooge was helped by spirits, The Grinch was held by people. Recent books can be seen using traditional story’s themes.
Is Santa truly a secular figure or is he a religious one? This has been a long-standing argument. However, instead of viewing Saint Nick as either secular or religious, it would be more beneficial to examine him as a figure consisting of both religious and secular elements. It is true that the contemporary Santa Claus may be more associated with secular concepts, such as consumerism, but it is also crucial to emphasize the origins of the jolly old man. He is the product of Western Christianization. It is thought that he was created from a combination of the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, a Christian saint, who was known for giving gifts, and the fictional character of Father Christmas from British folklore (CITE). Santa Claus can be viewed
The theme of social responsibility in A Christmas Carol is played out in various aspects throughout the story, it truly is a underlying subject of the entire novella. In the third chapter, we begin to see Scrooge have a change of heart as he begins to understand his own responsibilities in regards to the poor and those feelings are projected onto the audience. The Ghost of Christmas Present used Scrooges own words against him to help bring about the change; for example, when the ghost reminds him of when the people asked him for a charitable donation for those in poverty, Scrooge told them that, “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population” (Dickens, pg. 6); the Ghost used this same statement when
In Jay Mock’s blog “Is Santa Claus a Conspiracy?” he contemplates whether Santa Claus has an evil purpose. Mock goes through what happens every year during Christmas time now and how “good feelings are directly connected to consumerism” (Mock p3), how we lie to support the conspiracy (Mock p5) and the different options a child may go through when trying to decide whether Santa Claus is real or not (Mock p7-15).
Christmas has consumed itself. At its conception, it was a fine idea, and I imagine that at one point its execution worked very much as it was intended to. These days, however, its meaning has been perverted; its true purpose ignored and replaced with a purpose imagined by those who merely go through the motions, without actually knowing why they do so.
...ch out only for themselves, we lose sight of what Christmas is truly about. Forgetting the being of Santa Claus only makes us slight the kindness on which this holiday is based. Not believe in Santa! You may as well not believe in the very gifts laid under the tree on Christmas morn. Without your faith, Santa Claus would be nonexistent. There would be no yearning in your soul to give of yourself to others, no example to follow. Thank God, Santa Claus exists and exists forever, lightening the heavy heart as the sight of the snow blankets the soul and defines the heart of childhood.
Scrooge was a terrible, terrible man. However, after a fantastic night of visions, he transforms into a better man. Patrick T. Reardon wrote in the National Catholic Reporter, that “A Christmas Carol isn’t about a sinner. It’s about a sinner who goes through a conversion experience. (Reardon, Patrick T. "The conversion of St. Scrooge." National Catholic Reporter, 18 Dec. 2015) He says that we are all like Scrooge, and we all have our Bah Humbug experiences; and like Scrooge, we need a conversion in some way. Scrooge is in all of us, but it’s what we do to try and change ourselves that’s makes the story have a happy
Charles dickens classic novella “A Christmas Carol” endorses the notion that “Generosity involves more than the giving of money, it’s also about the giving of one's goodwill, compassion, sympathy, empathy and kindness. By taking his seemingly irredeemable protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge on a supernatural journey, Dickens’ intends to convey to all of society the importance of generosity. He proclaims that generosity of the spirit defines Christmas, and goes a large way towards defining true humanity for him as well.
...t, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within [him]." With this still resonating in his mind, he jumps out of bed and immediately begins setting things right. He buys a turkey bigger than Bob Cratchit's son and sends it to him, and instead of being rude to the Poulterer, he pays for a cab to get them to Cratchit's home. He then goes out with joy in his heart and bumps into a man who asked him to donate money to the poor the day before. As opposed to being unkind and cruel, the new and improved Scrooge donates a large sum of money to the cause happily. This kind, happy, and generous man is a complete change from the stingy and unkind Scrooge from Christmas Eve. If someone this awful can change, anyone and everyone can do the same. They just need a little push in the right direction.
Christmas used to be a time when families gathered and love enclosed each member. Meals and stories were shared and times were simpler. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass were special times for families to sit back in a pew and remember the true meaning of Christmas as carols were sung in the high choirs. This serenity and peace seems to be a thing of the past. Now, people are drowning in the pressure that Christmas is all about presents, and that unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning is what this joyous occasion is centered around. Another misconceived thought is that Christmas has to be bought and given away in order to have a good time. In 2010, a stunning “4.8 million people [found] time on Christmas Day to go online and shop.” On the contrary, only “4.5 million people who attend an Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist or Pentecostal church,” was present in church on Christmas Day. The thought that shopping is more important than the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is appalling to Christians throughout the world.
Christmastime was always a magical time of year for me. The beautifully decorated shopping malls, with toys everywhere you looked, always fascinated me. And the houses, with the way their lights would glow upon the glistening snow at night, always seemed to calm me. But decorating the Christmas tree and falling asleep underneath the warm glow of the lights, in awe that Santa Claus would soon be there, was the best part of it all. As a child, these things enchanted me. Sure, the presents were great, but the excitement and mystery of Christmas; I loved most of all. Believing…that’s what it was all about. Believing there really was a Santa and waking up Christmas morning, realizing he’d come, as my sleepy eyes focused on all the fancily wrapped presents before me.
Today it seems as though Christmas has fallen victim to materialism and commercialization. Rather than it being a time of loving and giving, it has become a stressful season of greed. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, it is important for us to recognize the true reason of the season, and celebrate in a fashion that exemplifies that reason.
Although Santa has become the main staple of the Christmas season it is important to remember the true reason for the season. Jesus’ birth is what December 25 began as until Saint Nicholas day merged with it. Even though the character that has developed and encountered extremely drastic changes, he has almost always been a giving generous figure in society. “Santa is ‘an invention of the advertising industry’ and ‘a representative of consumer society,’ according to Bonifatiuswerk der deutschen Katholiken [Boniface of German Catholics], which seeks to restore St. Nicholas to his proper place in the Christmas season” (Sweas).