Santa Claus: Dybbuk, Tulpa, Legend
FreakingNews.com
What is it about this time of year that melts even the hardest disinfonaut scepticism? Sure, Santa Claus might be the old shamanic magic mushroom cult incarnate repackaged to dupe us all into developing a Pavlovian response to the Baron Samedi of consumerism that he has now become, but I’ve always suspected the rabbit hole went down deeper.
And then I came across this blog post by paranormal researcher Jeff Belanger:
My friend Al told me he was struggling with telling his four-year-old daughter about Santa Claus. “It’s the only lie I’ve ever told her,” he said. I too have a four-year-old daughter and am currently in the thick of Santa Fever at my house, where we’ve been lauding Père Noël for the last three Christmases. He’s a legend I’m honored to propagate.
I study legends for a living. Monsters, ghosts, extraterrestrials, and ancient mysteries swirl around me like smoke from a smoldering campfire. If…
Santa Claus Loves Smoking
Did you know that for decades, jolly old St. Nick was a heavy, couple-packs-a-day smoker? According to prominent advertising of the twentieth century, at least. How to be a Retronaut has an extensive collection of popular culture portrayals of a nicotine-loving Santa, puffing away as he festoons trees with cartons of smokes, and more…
The Westboro Baptist Church’s Christmas Carol
An update of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’ titled ‘Santa Will Take You To Hell,’ this is sure to earn a place in the modern believer’s seasonal songbook. Actually, it’s nice to see a Christian group that acknowledges that Christmas is a pagan holiday.
Letters To Santa Have Taken A Sad Turn
Has the “modern family” structure put pressure on children to grow up too quick, or just be more considerate? Letters to Santa usually contain kids’ materialistic desires, but lately they’re more concerned with the happiness of their family and education of their siblings. Via NPR:
This year, postal workers opening and processing letters to Santa Claus have noticed a significant change in tone from years past.
“Normally the letters would be greedy-type things — big televisions, Xbox, Wiis, things of that nature,” Pete Fontana, the head elf in New York City’s main post office, tells NPR’s Robert Siegel. “This year, the letters are single moms, three kids, no winter coats, no shoes, blankets, can’t pay the bills, not enough food in the pantry. So the need has changed tremendously.”
Fontana, who has been working in U.S. Postal Service’s Operation Santa Claus program for 15 years, shares an example:
Dear Santa, my name is Chisertopher.…
Santa Bank Robbery
Authorities in Nashville are reporting that a man dressed as Santa Claus committed a gunpoint bank robbery on Christmas Eve. A witness says that Santa was “actually jovial, which was scary. He explained that he was robbing the bank because Santa had to pay his elves.”
There have been a number of infamous crimes in U.S. history involving Santa Claus; perhaps the worst occurred when a “Santa” shot dead six people during a bank robbery in Texas in 1927.
Jesus Shooting Santa
A man in Santa Maria, California has stoked outrage locally with his lawn display of Jesus shooting Santa Claus with a double-barreled shotgun, to protest the lack of attention paid to Christ at Christmastime. Residents are concerned by the scene’s close proximity to a school bus stop. I think it’s healthy for kids to see Jesus “taking out the trash.”
Sketchy Santas
I’m glad to see someone is collecting these precious moments. This blog has a great collection.
Burning Giant Santa Disaster In Brazil
Geekologie has photos from an unfortunate disaster which occurred in Santa Catarina, Brazil this past weekend. A 50-foot-tall Santa Claus in the middle of the city somehow managed to go up in flames, blanketing the surrounding area with dark smoke, and burned until nothing remained but a blackened skeletal structure. This is something you don’t want your kids to see.
