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Santa or Satan?
24 years ago, I noticed that Santa and Satan were anagrams. Then I realized that it’s not just the letters that match. They both wear red. Satan hangs out in fire, and Santa comes down the chimney into the fireplace. One is lovingly called “Old Nick,” the other “Saint Nick.”
I decided to do some exploration. Quite honestly, I didn’t find much other than the pretty much expected, “Santa takes people’s eyes off Jesus” advocates. That might be true, but it wasn’t the issue. I wanted to see if there was a hidden intention in the creation of the Santa character. Then I noticed yet another coincidence. When a pope dies, he’s dressed in a Santa-like costume.
Santa lives above everyone else in the North Pole; Satan lives below everyone else. Both are old, but they never die. Neither have a wife — maybe a maid or cook. Santa doesn’t have horns like Satan, but he has reindeer who have horns (lots of them). Santa dresses rather flamboyantly in bright red with a hint of white — but no one calls him gay. Satan sports the red look also, with a hint of black. Santa judges us as good or bad, and he delivers rewards if we merit them. Satan, of course, doles out the punishment so Santa (or God) can look nice all the time (except for an occasional lump of coal). Santa doesn’t do any work; he has slaves, i.e., elves that work their fingers to the bone all year. Satan pretty much works alone. And finally, after all that work, the elves get one night off while Santa goes around delivering the gifts and getting all the credit.
It seemed that I’d heard this before. As a child, I was presented with a view of God as an old man in the sky. The God I saw in photos wore a white robe–not pants, coat, and tossle cap–a costume that distinguished him from the masses. He was always old, but he never died. God didn’t have a goddess counterpart–doesn’t seem to need one. He deals out rewards and punishments based on his point of view of whatever he says is good and evil. And basically you had to slave away through life to please him and to get those rewards. It seemed that many throughout history felt that God loved sacrifices of all kinds — animals, food, virgins, hard work or even your very life. And if anything good came to you, you’d better give him the credit.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SANTA AND CHILDREN
This archetypal story keeps being reborn in different people, different costumes, and different rule systems. But it is the same story at the core. And since it is only a story, it needs constant reinforcement to stay alive. If it starts to die, its beneficiaries resurrect it in a new superhero character.
We can change things back to the way they were in Eden if we understand why these stories appear to have so much power. Little children believe in Santa until about seven years old. Seven is the approximate time when our discrimination starts to kick in. Before that time, children live in what is called the alpha state of mind — it is like hypnosis. Whatever they hear, they believe. We are told all of these stories prior to seven — so they become our reality. Our mind, now brainwashed, creates our experience in the world. It creates a seeming fate — a fate that the creators of the story knew would make them the winners.
We can’t fight this perspective; because fighting the story gives it power. That was how the patriarch became our leaders and gods; and why it appears that Satan just won’t die. Satan lives off of attention and emotion. As long as we fear him or hate him or adore him, he’s flying high. But, when we start to ignore him or stop believing the story that includes him, he starts to fade away. He starves from lack of emotional food.
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