4 Blueprint
OPINIONS
Dec. 16, 2016
Santa Clause is not coming to town, so get over it By Gisselle Cervantes, Copy Editor If you haven’t already realized, the jolly old man who supposedly climbs down your chimney every year on Dec. 25 isn’t real. Your parents have been lying to you for years, saying that some old guy and his team of reindeers and elves travel the whole world in one night. The name actually comes from Saint Nicholas, a monk from 280 A.D. who was known for giving to the poor. It has been translated to modern day culture with the purpose of giving kids an incentive to be well-behaved all year in order to receive gifts on Christmas Day. Santa is a prominent figure in commercials, movies, stories and essentially any type of product around the holiday season--even soap. But what is the purpose of the Santa craze? Kids spend hours and hours tracking Santa Claus and get lied to by their parents all to be tricked into good behavior. Parents even go so far as to lay cookies out on the chimney for THEMSELVES. Santa is a petty excuse for parents to reward or punish their kids for their behavior. He has a “naughty or nice” list, which determines whether kids get presents or not. In many cases, these kids begin using Santa as a motivation to be nice around their parents, instead of learning why it is important to be kind to everyone. While parents are trying to teach their kids a valuable lesson, why do they need some random guy dressed in a red fat-suit as an incentive to
behave? Who started the fake Santa in the mall tradition anyway? Personally, the fact that I looked forward to taking a picture with some random guy every year and telling him what I wanted for Christmas was sad. The Santa impersonators sit on a throne of lies. The holidays are a celebration of religious views such as Hanukkah or Christmas but the Christian exclusive Santa craze often excludes other religions from the holiday fun, leaving Jewish kids wondering why the fat man in the red suit doesn’t come to their house. Christmas is about celebrating Jesus’s birth, but to most kids, it has become Lush, a popular cosmetic and beauty supply store, carries various Santa products for this Christmas about receiving presents season. from Santa. I’ve heard some Photo by Gisselle Cervantes kids tell me that Christmas is Santa’s birthday, which is completely inaccurate. I don’t blame the socks and toys become a constant old bawling my eyes out not just kids for valuing presents more than reminder of the tremendous lie. because I loved Santa, but because going to mass on Christmas Day. It’s The Christmas magic has become that meant that I wouldn’t be getthe parents who should emphasize all about Santa, so when we find out ting any more American Girl dolls that Christmas isn’t all about gift that he’s fake, all the magic is gone. for Christmas. receiving. Waking up early in the morning and The Santa myth has gone way too Plus, no matter how kids find out running downstairs to open presents far in the consumer industry and is about the fact that Santa is fake, becomes a thing of the past. excluding other holidays as well as it’s always devastating. These poor I’ve considered pretending I still being used purely to discipline kids. kids are being lied to for years, told believe in Santa just to get presents. I’m not bashing Santa, he’s a great stories about the magical North Pole Although it was hard to pretend guy. and then all of sudden it’s a lie. I still believed in Santa after my Santa Claus, thank you for the The corporate obsession with all parents sat me down and told me Disney Princess CD player. But now things Santa only makes breaking directly that Santa Claus is not that I know you’re fake, please stop the news worse. All the Santa hats, real. I was just an innocent ten year eating all my milk and cookies.
Don’t be a mean one, Mr. Grinch, enjoy the holidays By Sonja Renowden, Head Copy Editor Every year, without failure, there is always a grinch. You know who I’m talking about. That one friend who claims they “hate the holiday season.” How someone could ever have the capacity to hate such a joyous season is beyond me. The holiday season, what I and most people consider after Thanksgiving all the way up until New Year’s, is the season filled with happiness, and it’s all about spreading joyful spirit all around. I consider myself a holiday fanatic. All year I think about this time of year, and as soon as Halloween is gone, it’s the only thing on my mind. While most people are still getting excited about going to pumpkin patches and drinking pumpkin spice lattes, I’m already listening to my holiday playlist on Spotify and hanging up my lights outside.
Illustration by Gina DeCarlis
I love everything about the holidays: the music, the decorations, the weather, the cheerfulness and snuggling up with your best friends and watching festive movies all night while the snow is gently falling outside. I love baking yummy gingerbread cookies and calling up your friends to go sledding with you as soon as there’s enough snow on the ground. The holiday season is about bringing your family together and just having a good time. Although I do love to get presents, just as anyone else does, I would have to say my favorite part about the holidays is the idea of giving. It’s a day dedicated to giving all of your loved ones something that they really want, and, of course, giving to the less fortunate. So, even if you hate the music and the deco-
rations, please at least appreciate the holidays as a time to give back to others. It seems like as soon as the end of November rolls around and I’m starting to get super excited about the holidays, everywhere I go people try and ruin my good mood. They change the radio station to anything besides the holiday one, they complain about how early Macy’s puts up their decorations outside their store and they laugh at how I spend my late November weekends watching “Elf ’ on TV. I understand that not everyone celebrates Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa, and that’s OK. However, for the people who do celebrate the holiday season, nothing is worse than having your excitement immediately shut down by someone who refuses to indulge in anything holiday related. So, while I’m belting out all the lyrics to “Jingle Bells” while on my way to Starbucks to pick up my fourth peppermint mocha of the week, please just let me be. Let me enjoy the holiday cheer and let me be happy. It only comes around one time a year, so please don’t be a grinch, and please don’t steal my holiday joy.