Supposedly there was a guy. He tried to tell everyone to be nice to each other. Love thy neighbor, honor thy father, all that good stuff. Oh, and he had rules, too. Things he didn't want you doing. It gets complicated and he comes to a bad end. That's what happens when you try to tell other people how to live their lives, even if it's for their own good.
But some people -- the Christians -- really liked what he had to say. They wrote down all of his teachings in lots of books and made a religion based off of it. His name was Jesus Christ, see?
Anyway, Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of when he was born. It's not really, because Christmas is in the dead of winter, and Jesus was probably born in the spring or summer, if he ever really existed. But because the Christians wanted to convert more Pagans -- well, that's a story for another time.
Oh, yeah. And more than that, really. I mean, St. Nicholas -- jolly old Saint Nick -- wasn't such a great guy when he was alive. But now we've all got warm fuzzy feelings about him.
And the reindeer are kind of made up. I mean, even more than the rest of the story. There was this poem in the twenties, "A Visit from St. Nicholas". It added the reindeer in.
But they're fun, aren't they? Flying reindeer, man.
The modern Christmas is kind of a blend of a few different legends, but the basic idea's pretty common, really. A mythical guy with special powers who rewards (and sometimes) punishes children for their behavior throughout the year.
So, for Christmas, the guy's name is St. Nicholas. He wears red now, although he used to wear green. And he carries a big bag which somehow holds all the presents for all the kids all over the world.
Supposedly he keeps a list of kids, and what they do all throughout the year. And kids write him letters, as Christmas nears, so that he'll know what they want. If they're good, theoretically they'll get it: if they're bad, they'll get coal in their stockings.
It's, uh, a form of fuel. Kind of a door prize, really, especially for poor kids who might have to sleep in cold houses without it.
...Heh. Yeah, supposedly he makes the toys himself -- he's got a giant toy shop up at the North Pole, and a bunch of elves who love working for him, and that's all they do this time of year. They make toys for all the good kids.
S'a group of people who all get together and agree on what is and isn't fair for workers to put up with. They've got all sortsa regulations, some of 'em kinda stupid. Red tape, basically.
If the elves got themselves a union, realistically we'd never see another Christmas. They'd never work overtime, so you'd get your Christmas presents in August about five years later.
Supposedly there was a guy. He tried to tell everyone to be nice to each other. Love thy neighbor, honor thy father, all that good stuff. Oh, and he had rules, too. Things he didn't want you doing. It gets complicated and he comes to a bad end. That's what happens when you try to tell other people how to live their lives, even if it's for their own good.
But some people -- the Christians -- really liked what he had to say. They wrote down all of his teachings in lots of books and made a religion based off of it. His name was Jesus Christ, see?
Anyway, Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of when he was born. It's not really, because Christmas is in the dead of winter, and Jesus was probably born in the spring or summer, if he ever really existed. But because the Christians wanted to convert more Pagans -- well, that's a story for another time.
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Because that's a whole different thing.
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I just never realized there were two sides to the Christmas story.
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And the reindeer are kind of made up. I mean, even more than the rest of the story. There was this poem in the twenties, "A Visit from St. Nicholas". It added the reindeer in.
But they're fun, aren't they? Flying reindeer, man.
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But thanks for the religious explanation.
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The modern Christmas is kind of a blend of a few different legends, but the basic idea's pretty common, really. A mythical guy with special powers who rewards (and sometimes) punishes children for their behavior throughout the year.
So, for Christmas, the guy's name is St. Nicholas. He wears red now, although he used to wear green. And he carries a big bag which somehow holds all the presents for all the kids all over the world.
Supposedly he keeps a list of kids, and what they do all throughout the year. And kids write him letters, as Christmas nears, so that he'll know what they want. If they're good, theoretically they'll get it: if they're bad, they'll get coal in their stockings.
It's, uh, a form of fuel. Kind of a door prize, really, especially for poor kids who might have to sleep in cold houses without it.
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But wow. That's gotta be the best job ever. I mean, getting to pick out all those presents has gotta be a blast.
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S'a group of people who all get together and agree on what is and isn't fair for workers to put up with. They've got all sortsa regulations, some of 'em kinda stupid. Red tape, basically.
If the elves got themselves a union, realistically we'd never see another Christmas. They'd never work overtime, so you'd get your Christmas presents in August about five years later.
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No Christmas means no presents? Well, that's just not right!
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