Posted by Anne Onymous on Sun, 12/03/2000 - 1:48pm.
Archived comment by Mike:
Jon: Arlene brought up something along the lines of this subject in an earlier comment, but yes-- "Santa" does sound similar to "Satan," and I'm pretty sure that it may not be just a mistake. Nick, as in "Saint Nick," is also another obscure name for the devil. And the references to Santa as a "jolly old elf" don't seem to be more grounded in old-style mythology than anything Biblical. "'Tween earth and hell, we reign supreme..." Most Christian holidays are really just weak attempts to cover over older pagan holidays, anyway. Who says Jesus was born on December 25? That date was chosen strictly to block out the older celebrations like Saturnalia. (Or so I've heard.) Anyway, I'm glad that the paganistic aspects of the most popular Christian holidays still tend to outshine the slapped-on Biblical features. What did you remember best about Easter as a child-- Jesus' return from the grave, or the eggs and bunnies? Actually, I think I heard that Eastre is the name of some European fertility goddess. And like Arlene said, the Christmas tree is a symbol of fertility. The Christians may have managed to change Samhain into "Halloween," but who in their right minds celebrates All Souls Day the day after trick-or-treating? Uh... sorry for rambling. The moral of the story is: heathens are everywhere and Satan reigns supreme. I, for one, am pretty okay with that.
Jon:
Arlene brought up something along the lines of this subject in an earlier comment, but yes-- "Santa" does sound similar to "Satan," and I'm pretty sure that it may not be just a mistake. Nick, as in "Saint Nick," is also another obscure name for the devil. And the references to Santa as a "jolly old elf" don't seem to be more grounded in old-style mythology than anything Biblical. "'Tween earth and hell, we reign supreme..."
Most Christian holidays are really just weak attempts to cover over older pagan holidays, anyway. Who says Jesus was born on December 25? That date was chosen strictly to block out the older celebrations like Saturnalia. (Or so I've heard.)
Anyway, I'm glad that the paganistic aspects of the most popular Christian holidays still tend to outshine the slapped-on Biblical features. What did you remember best about Easter as a child-- Jesus' return from the grave, or the eggs and bunnies? Actually, I think I heard that Eastre is the name of some European fertility goddess. And like Arlene said, the Christmas tree is a symbol of fertility. The Christians may have managed to change Samhain into "Halloween," but who in their right minds celebrates All Souls Day the day after trick-or-treating?
Uh... sorry for rambling. The moral of the story is: heathens are everywhere and Satan reigns supreme. I, for one, am pretty okay with that.