(December 20, 2009 at 7:42 am)fr0d0 Wrote:(December 20, 2009 at 4:51 am)leo-rcc Wrote: Santa has long been criticized as being not Christian and rightly so.Saint Nicholas was a Christian who liked giving presents to kids. Not unprecedented in human history, but irrefutably the source of the Santa story.
If you think that Saint Nicholas is the origin of Santa Claus man are you in for a surprise. Santa Claus is the culmination of various other traditions all rolled into one. Saint Nicholas has since been put in place by Christians to make the celebration a Christian one. Check into the stories of Basil of Caesarea, Odin, and the celebrations of Yule, and you will find that many of these stories, traditions and celebrations can be traced back to pre-christian ones.
As for liking to give presents to kids, what Saint Nicholas allegedly did was provide poor parents of daughters with a dowry so their daughters would not have to be become prostitutes.
Quote:Who's 'they'? It's a secular festival where a little bit about the birth of Jesus remains. Not the other way around.
Bullshit. Christmas is pagan in origins, there is nothing secular about it. That others have secularized it doesn't make the feast itself secular.
Best regards,
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
Leo van Miert
Horsepower is how hard you hit the wall --Torque is how far you take the wall with you
