Black Santa

[amIblue?]

I was surprised that no one posted about Megyn Kelly's asinine comments about Santa (and Jesus) being white, but I found this article today on Gawker about the Black Santa at Macy's that I thought was interesting

http://gawker.com/macys-has-a-black-...ret-1488574808

Can I just say that this is one of the best, jolliest Santas I've ever seen? I mean, I don't know that you'd expect less than the best at Macy's flagship store, but I want to go see this Santa!

[badgeguy]

Did she lose here job over those remarks? I don't have cable anymore so I cannot watch Fox, but seems to me that if she did not, then I think all those people of the past that have also made "racist" or "misinformed" comments who HAVE lost their jobs for making similar comments should be upset that she did not......double standard if you ask me.

[amIblue?]

Given that she works for Fox, my guess is that they gave her a raise.

But seriously, I have not heard that she was fired.

[DrPhil]

Well...I'm more bothered that people are still pushing the Santa thing in the first place. No, kids, there is no Santa, Tooth Fairy, or other stuff. If you are among the fortunate who gets gifts and stuff, you need to know those gifts and stuff come from hard working people (if they aren't stolen) who thought enough of you to be generous.

I thank God my family hasn't exchanged gifts in a generation. Grown folks get their own stuff. The holidays are to get together to laugh and have fun.

As for Jesus, a Jewish teacher from Galilee in Israel back then was most likely of the same ethnicity and racial identification as the majority of people there today and that is typically not of the immediate African diaspora. Jesus was probably not blonde and blue eyed but he was more likely of the white diaspora or perhaps of the Asian diaspora which includes a range of ethnicities, cultures, languages, and physical traits. I still hug Black baby Jesus, though.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Well...I'm more bothered that people are still pushing the Santa thing in the first place. No, kids, there is no Santa, Tooth Fairy, or other stuff. If you are among the fortunate who gets gifts and stuff, you need to know those gifts and stuff come from hard working people (if they aren't stolen) who thought enough of you to be generous.

I thank God my family hasn't exchanged gifts in a generation. Grown folks get their own stuff. The holidays are to get together to laugh as have fun.

Amen.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Well...I'm more bothered that people are still pushing the Santa thing in the first place. No, kids, there is no Santa, Tooth Fairy, or other stuff. If you are among the fortunate who gets gifts and stuff, you need to know those gifts and stuff come from hard working people (if they aren't stolen) who thought enough of you to be generous.

I thank God my family hasn't exchanged gifts in a generation. Grown folks get their own stuff. The holidays are to get together to laugh and have fun.

This!

I'm also extremely happy my family decided to stop exchanging gifts years ago. It's hard for my family to all be together around the holidays now (on my mom's side alone we have people in RI, NJ, VA, FL, TN, and TX), so now only my immediate family sends gifts but they're really small and don't cost much. It's more just a way to say we're thinking of each other on the holiday. Although, my mom sends me the most stuff (a few shirts, some gift cards, and maybe a piece of jewelry she picks up at Express), and still signs everything "From: Santa"

People look at me and my significant other like we're crazy because we never exchange gifts. For us, we'd rather spend our money WITH each other rather than ON each other. For Christmas this year, it's just going to be the two of us so we're making dinner, going to a movie, and buying some different kinds of booze to experiment making some fun holiday mixed drinks. We sometimes go on trips (Vegas for his birthday 2 years ago, and we're going to Mexico in January for mine), or find something fun to do around the city. I'd rather have great memories than great stuff.

[AOIILisa]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I thank God my family hasn't exchanged gifts in a generation. Grown folks get their own stuff. The holidays are to get together to laugh and have fun.

I wish my family would do away with this, except for the kids. We are fortunate in that we've all done fairly well and we can get what we want for ourselves. So we end up having "The Annual Alcohol and Cookie Exchange" because there's nothing anyone really needs or wants.

[amIblue?]

We don't do gifts for adults in my family, but I think part of the magic of childhood at Christmas is Santa. You don't have many years for that sense of wonder. I'm going to enjoy the fun with my daughter until I can't anymore.

[DrPhil]

LOL. My parents stopped doing the Santa thing early on and I am forever grateful. We caught them taking gifts out of the closet and instead of trying to find a lie they just started giving us money to buy school clothes and games. I'm glad we learned early on to appreciate the money of our parents. We also learned that unless we told our parents we lost a tooth, there was no Tooth Fairy. LOL.

I respect cultures in USA and around the world that celebrate traditions. I just want people to see beyond that and appreciate the humans involved. That includes children who after a certain age are keen enough to grasp that they are blessed to have family or a community that can afford to give them ANY kind of gift no matter how seemingly small.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

We don't do gifts for adults in my family, but I think part of the magic of childhood at Christmas is Santa. You don't have many years for that sense of wonder. I'm going to enjoy the fun with my daughter until I can't anymore.

+1

Nothing wrong with honoring a tradition that adds to the magic of Christmas for kids. Children become adults who can never return to childhood. There is nothing wrong with letting them retain their innocence as long as possible. Nor does it necessarily suggest an inaibility to recognize what hard-working parents do for you later on. I am an example and know of too many others to buy that.

I still remember Christmas Eve nights, watching the local television news weatherman point out Santa's sleigh, on his radar map. Darn near broke my collarbone trying to dive into bed because Santa was about to do his thing.

I'm a grown man yet still cheriish those days....

As a dad, I let my girls believe in Santa as long as it was feasible for them. When it no longer was, they accepted it and moved on, secure that Christmas was, and is, first about the Savior's birth, family and goodwill toward others.

[DrPhil]

We were talking about the people who perpetuate the Santa thing beyond (what some people consider) reason and it is only a matter of personal preference. But if evidence is needed, there are people who believe there's nothing wrong with young kids knowing family and friends gave them gifts---even if that means claiming the gifts were given to Santa to be delivered. The kids (if they aren't spoiled brats) thank humans for the gifts and thank Santa for the delivery. If Santa must exist.

[maconmagnolia]

Considering the fact that Santa doesn't exist, I don't know why people are debating his race.

[amIblue?]

Originally Posted by maconmagnolia

Considering the fact that Santa doesn't exist, I don't know why people are debating his race.

I don't think anyone debated his race; Megyn Kelly stated it was an historical fact that he's white, like Jesus.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

I don't think anyone debated his race; Megyn Kelly stated it was an historical fact that he's white, like Jesus.

As long as I've been alive (and before) there has been "debate" over why Santa is depicted as white and why nonwhite kids around the world are waiting for an obese white man to surprise them with gifts. Much respect to the Jackson 5 and James Brown for shedding some light on it all.

St. Nicholas was a real man of the white diaspora but it morphed into something much different and most people don't know the history. I still say, to the people who exchange gifts during the holiday, give thanks to the real life humans who make these gifts possible.

This week's articles:

Saint Nicholas to Santa: The Surprising Origins

Black Peter, Krampus, and the Real Roots of St. Nick and Santa Claus

[AGDee]

But he did exist. The idea of Santa is patterned after St. Nicholas who was born in what is now Turkey, but which was Greek at the time.