How Religion And Santa Co-Exist

At times I've wondered how Santa and the baby Jeebus could co-exist during the holiday season (which one you may ask as there is probably a holiday every month and some months have several, it's the one that just passed). The fact that most people have no trouble accepting both the stories about Santa and the baby Jeebus at the same time at times has had me scratching my ass. Then the other day it brilliantly occurred to me, they are both pushing the same thing. Be good (or in other words conform to the standards as you are told) or else. Santa will reward you with lots of neat toys and other goodies when you are good and will punish you with coal in your stocking if you are bad. (That's the story you get told, but in reality it all comes down to the "Benjamins", the rich kid will get all kinds of nice toys regardless of how much of an asshole the kid really is and the poor kid will get squat or very little regardless of how good the kid is.) And religion is pushing the same bullshit, be good and you'll go to heaven, if you are bad you'll go to hell and suffer for eternity. I guess in a way one reinforces the other. 

Who cares what color Santa is?

When I was a kid, I had a more confounding question -- was he even human?

Lately there is a big to-do about what color is Santa. When I was a kid, I was told that Christmas presents were delivered by Joulupukki, a Christmas goat. This is a tradition in Finland and Scandinavia. But then at school I would hear different stories about who delivers the presents.

What color Santa is or isn't is small potatoes compared to the confusion in my head when I was a little kid.

Joulupukki is a Finnish Christmas figure. The name "Joulupukki" literally means "Christmas Goat" or "Yule Goat" in Finnish; the word pukki comes from the Teutonic root bock, which is a cognate of the English "buck", "Puck", and means "billy-goat". An old Scandinavian custom, the figure eventually became more or less conflated with Santa Claus.

It was the guy below, Santa. Now Santa was easier to believe in than the goat, but still it was confusing to a kid. The cross-cultural shit can be difficult at times, especially if you are still learning the English language at the time.

In recent years Joulupukki has morphed into more of a Father Christmas figure, but for most in Finland he is still Joulupukki.

Xmas Lights

'Tis the season!!  

Holiday Lights

This is more realistic than the deer either on the lawn or on the roof.

I guess this is how Santa feels after delivering all the presents, drinking all the milk and eating all the cookies left for him by the kids.

More Monkey Butt

After doing the post where I mentioned Anti-Monkey Butt powder, I recieved a comment from someone who works for Anti-Monkey Butt with a link to this video.

'Tis the season, so enjoy!!