Santa Clause Vs Christmas

1797 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A personal narrative about holiday traditions christmas

For Christians, Christmas is the celebration for when the Son of God was born as Jesus Christ. The main cause for all the festivities and traditions during Christmastime is to show love for God (Mercado 5). The Philippine concept of Christmas is that it is a purely religious Christian event, with the presence of Jesus Christ and our unique Misa de Gallo, while America celebrates Christmas in a more secular, materialistic way, with the prevalence of Santa Claus and as seen in A Christmas Carol.
The religion of the majority of people in the Philippines is Christian—86 percent being Roman Catholic, 6 percent in various nationalized Christian cults, and 2 percent spread out over various Protestant denominations (Miller 27). Because of this, our …show more content…

In many ways, Santa is the opposite of Jesus— most importantly, Jesus Christ provides miracles of health and necessities while Santa Claus provides toys and luxuries (Belk “A Child's Christmas in America: Santa Claus as deity, consumption as religion” 91). Santa’s very character highlights commercialism and materialism through the exchanging of gifts.
The comparison of Jesus Christ and Santa Claus suggest that if Jesus is the Christian God, Santa is the god of materialism. Santa Claus himself, and rituals done during Christmastime such as Christmas parties and huge family feasts “celebrate greed, gluttony, and hedonism” (Belk “A Child's Christmas in America: Santa Claus as deity, consumption as religion” 94).
On the other hand, the commercialization of Christmas as presented in ‘A Christmas Carol’ is most evident in the chapter where the Ghost of Christmas Present leads Scrooge through the streets of London. They enter a local marketplace, and the objects in the stalls are described to be advertising themselves onto Scrooge through personification— “’winking from their shelves’ at the customers, making people’s mouths water as they pass, and some are ‘urgently entreating and beseeching to be carried home in paper bags and eaten after dinner’” (Kučera

Show More
Related

  • The Colombian Exchange and Christianity in 1450 and 1750

    1871 Words  | 4 Pages

    Russell, Susan. "CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES." CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES. (accessed February 17, 2014). http://www.seasite.niu.edu/crossroads/russell/christianity.htm

    Read More

  • Krampus And Santa Clause Similarities

    217 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • David Chidester's Authenta Claus And The Theory Of Santa Claus

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Seculareligious Holidays: How Unbelievers Approach Holy Days

    2269 Words  | 5 Pages

    Of all religious holidays that have been adopted by secularists, one of the most popular would be Christmas, originally meant to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. With the exact date of Jesus' birth unknown during ancient times, Christmas was initially assigned to January 6th, but was changed to December 25th under the influence of the winter solstice (Nothaft 903). Peculiarly however, is the universal celebration of Christmas al...

    Read More

  • Santa's Got New Ink

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    After hundreds of years, it can be agreed upon that the story of Santa Claus could use a few tweaks and changes to progress with society. Clearly, the new generation is all about pizzazz, so the simple story is no longer up to standard. However, no matter how much the outer layer of Santa may change, from weight to tattoos, his morals and values should remain, as they exist to bring hope and joy in a time meant for happiness.

    Read More

  • The Ghost of Christmas Present

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    It’s December of 1801 and the whole town is decorating, dancing, singing, and laughing as they get ready for a near holiday: Christmas. All but one pessimistic, obdurate cripple of a man. His name is Ebenezer Scrooge, an undermined old male swathed in dark clothing. He is typically found strolling the streets on Victorian London with poor posture, eyes locked on the cracked sidewalk beneath the soles of his shoes. Slumping along, carolers cease to sing near him and nobody speaks when in his presence. Scrooge is a prejudging business man who hurries to be left alone and disregards cheer. He is obdurate and blind to the consequences of his actions. Sudden wealth brings a snobbiness when his business partner dies, and as a result, his one true love divorces him, sending him into a state of hatred and regret. With this evidence to back it up, Scrooge can be perceived as a negative, crippling man with little tolerance to change. However, things are bound to change with the visitation of the wraiths: the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, an inevitable change that be...

    Read More

  • Santa Claus Does Exist

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...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.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Hispanic And American Cultural Holidays

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christmas is a holiday celebrated by most of the world. Christianity is very popular in the US and Hispanic cultures. In the US, Christmas is celebrated with going to Church on Christmas Eve, spending time with their families, and many other things. People also reenact the nativity scene, sing Christmas carols, and do

    Read More

  • Murri Religion Source Analysis

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    The image enforces the meaning of Christmas being lost, and that the people need to be aware of this now sacrilegious, laic time. The source displays the change from sacred Australia, which was a time of religion, to a more secular period. The source presents the contemporary cultural values of Australians today, often disassociating themselves from holy, divine objects, places or people. Losing their sacred connectedness to God or their purpose with religion. Taking Christ out of the equation presents how Jesus has been neglected by those supposed Christians of the modern day, who have forgotten the sole meaning of Christmas and their religion. This image imposes a reinforced message through an image presenting secularism of contemporary Australian Christmas with the words “missing”, and “what Jesus has become”. The view of Source 3 displays that anything of great importance in the religious sense, including Jesus, in temporal culture which exists in Australia is lost.

    Read More

  • A Christmas Carol by Chales Dickens

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Christmas in America and Spain

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    What about other countries though? Is the Christmas season all about giving and receiving gifts? Are children in Spain rewarded by Santa with gifts and toys on Christmas Eve? In this essay we will look at what Christmas season means in Spain, and what traditions are prevalent in their culture. We will also look at the Christmas related traditions of Americans, and how those compare and contrast to those in Spain.

    Read More

  • A Christmas Carol

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    The well known holiday of Christmas today is far from what it was in it’s former being. Many aspects led to the change in Christmas, however Charles Dickens, a Victorian era author was arguably the most influential in the change. There was a time when christmas was not much more important than your average holiday. Without the work of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Regency Christmas would not have changed to be the way it is today. As we examine the Regency Christmas, the Christmas events in A Christmas Carol, new Christmas ideas, and today’s new christmas we will form the true Christmas.

    Read More

  • Christmas Carol

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within the book, Scrooge undergone a huge transformation from a mean old miser to the true meaning of Christmas spirit. He was only able to perform this transformation by seeing the 3 ghost of Christmas: The ghost of Christmas past, present, and Yet-To-Come. Scrooge spent his life focusing on his wealth along with his partner Marley. One night Marley’s ghost visits Scrooge trying to get Scrooge to change his fate because Marley ended up bound in the chains of his own greed. Later that night, Scrooge was first visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past and was show his childhood. He was first shown him in the school all alone while everyone else left with their families for Christmas. Then the Ghost of Christmas Past showed Scrooge how he still had some Christmas Spirit when he was younger but he ruined...

    Read More

  • History of christmas

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although it was never celebrated in biblical times, Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Visalia, California in praise of the fact that God loved us so much; he sent his one and only son to earth. He was wholey god and wholey man. Whereas we have succumbed to the temptations of this earth, Jesus was able to overcome all temptations and live a sinless life. He was then crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. One cannot understand why we celebrate the birth of Christ without seeing the other end of his life. He was crucified for our sins and resurrected.

    Read More

More about Santa Clause Vs Christmas

Open Document