Myth of Santa Claus One

¶ … Myth of Santa Claus

One of the greatest myths of Christian American is the myth of Old Saint Nick. Santa Claus is a favorite childhood memory of millions of adults all over the world. The story of the old jolly man who brings joy and happiness to good children every has saturated the concept of Christmas so much, that many children completely forget the religious importance of the holiday. This myth is one which becomes distorted as each individual ages. Santa Claus becomes more of a way for adults to control the behavior of their children, as each person grows out of the belief of the unreal.

Christmas is the holiest Christian holiday of the year. It represents the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God according to Christian dogma. However, one of the saints has morphed into a figure which has essentially stolen the show in the minds of most children. Nowadays, in contemporary society, Christmas is associated with the figure of Santa Claus, who brings gifts to those children who have behaved the entire year. According to the myth, Santa Claus can see all children and how they behave at all times. If they have been bad children, they do not get the lavish toys that the other children who have been good get. He has an entire army of elves which work endlessly all year to make to coveted toys for good children across the globe. Mainstream culture has transformed Christmas into a form of rewarding children for desired behavior. As each child eventually learns the truth of their parent's holiday deception, those new adults do not forget Santa Claus, but rather they use the myth is a Marxist twist of religious ideology. Parents everywhere lie to their children for years in order to influence their behavior and exert more control over them. This is seen through the application of various social and Marxist theories onto the childhood dream.

Plato's philosophies come from the words and teachings of his mentor Socrates. He frequently compares adults to children while describing Socratic philosophies. This would later be followed up with the philosopher Immanuel Kant's belief that adults and children are parallel in amazing and unrecognized ways. Plato's writings show the father as a strong influence in the lives of his sons (Plato Symposium). If he knew the modern day myth of Santa Claus, it would be just another example of how the fathers words can make his son believe even the most outlandish stories. By tempting them with rewards, parents are controlling the behavior of children in order to install within them a sense of morality.

No child has ever seen Santa Claus, yet they believe in him whole-heartedly. According to the philosopher Immanuel Kant, no adult has ever seen God yet they, like children, believe in him with no reservations, (McCormick 2006). Despite the fact that we will never acquire any knowledge about what comes after death, billions of people across the globe believe in a supernatural God. The myth of Santa Claus does to children what God does to adults. In Kant's eyes, Santa Claus is parallel to God. Children will never see or feel him, yet he is absolutely real. Even after individuals find out the truth, they still perpetuate the myth as a way of control over their ignorant children. Rather than behaving in life in order to get into the afterlife, children behave for presents.

Ernst Cassier would follow suit with Kant's ideas on Santa Claus. He believes that men need symbols to create meaning and make sense of the world. Santa Claus, according to Cassier's beliefs, is a product of the adult actions to extract the positive behavior they desire. In his work, Mythologies, Roland Barnes explores the idea that myths are used to control behavior. The myth of Santa Claus is used by those who know the truth to benefit themselves. Children with good behavior mean more parental control.

Many of the ideas brought about within the context of the Frankfurt school also shed new light on the myth of Santa Claus. Theodor W. Adorno believes that the dominant class rules the lower classes through forcing their politics and beliefs on them, (Kellner 2007). Max Horkheimer's belief follows the tradition of growing up and using Santa Claus. Just as individuals have moved from a more surreal or objective view of reality to a more functional and subjective view. People grow up and out of believing in Santa Claus, yet he does not disappear. He is used as a function for those who no longer believe. Alexis Tocqueville was a French politician and a very early sociologist. He had ties to early Marxist thinking; viewing the myth of Santa Claus within the scope of Tocquevillian thinking, the myth fits nicely into the ideology of Marxism. It becomes a tool to those who know that it does not really exist.