There really is a Santa Claus

Well it’s a cold Friday morning, but inside its so delightful...no I’m not going to start singing ‘Let it snow’ but I think it’s obvious that I am well into the Christmas Spirit (Hence the title). Whatever your faith may be, and however you practice that faith, I hope that each person that reads this endeavors to spend as much time as possible with family, friends, and those you feel to be important in your life. I’m not sure if it’s just that everyone is looking forward to being done with their fall semester and surviving finals, but everyone seems to be in increasingly better moods, something that I’ve found growing and growing as we have sped towards December. It could just be that I notice it within myself to such an extent, but people are just happier the closer we have been to this month. From smiling and waving to you from across campus, stopping to chat when one would usually just say hello, or just general kindness; there is something that affects everyone during the holiday season.

This leads me to the main focus of my post; that there really IS a Santa Claus. Sure, there was a St. Nicholas way back when so I suppose I’m simply stating a historical fact, but I mean it much more profoundly. Of course there probably (And I say probably because in the event that he is a real person I don’t want to be put on the naughty list) isn’t a fat, jolly guy wearing a red suit forcing child-size workers to create toys in the freezing arctic circle. I’m talking about Santa as an embodiment of the Christmas spirit. It’s all around us. It’s in the decorations that we so laboriously place in and on the outside of our homes and buildings. It’s in the gatherings of family and friends (And friends that have become family as they often do in college). Its in the gifts we carefully select and wrap for loved-ones with the hopes of seeing smiles come to their faces as they open them on Christmas morning. It’s in the Christmas music we hear blaring in supermarkets, stores, gas stations, the campus center, and on car radios. The point I’m trying to get to is that although he may not be an actual person (But if you are, I want a new suit please), Santa is all around us, creating a magical atmosphere that helps to warm the coldest of hearts; I’m proof of that.

Many complain that corporations have taken over Christmas and that it has turned into a day celebrated with consumerism. While the day has become a bit commercial, I’ll admit Christmas music should not be playing in October, I think if you look hard enough, you can find the Christmas spirit bringing joy and love wherever you look. I’ll also admit that I enjoy receiving presents, but if they were not a part of Christmas, I think I would love it just the same. They serve only as the icing to the cake that is Christmas, if you will. Christmas means a lot to me if you couldn’t tell that already. I have always lived far away from my extended family, of course that has increased exponentially. Throughout my life, Christmas was one of the few times throughout the year when I could spend time with my family and friends in an environment of happiness and love, a feeling that I suppose has molded itself to Christmas in my mind.

I will conclude my rant on the holidays now and wish you Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and if you don’t celebrate any of those…enjoy your December!

Festively yours,
Simon