Existence of Santa Clause.North American Christmas vs. Chinese New Year

Recently I was thinking about the Comparisons between Chinese New Year and Christmas.

It is starting to get to the time when you will see the Magical Mystical figure of Santa Clause/Father Christmas/The great Alf/Elf walking around. Of course children who believe in Santa Clause believe that these people are not the real Santa Claus but that the real one is at the North Pole somewhere right now.
TV shows often depict children tugging on the Mall Santa's beard to prove that Santa is fake or real.

Later, Parents will put out presents and pretend Santa Claus comes and delivers quite expensive toys in the middle of the night secretly in exchange for "goodness" and milk and cookies. He is pulled on a sleigh with eight reindeer and recently, Rudolph the ninth leader with a red glowing nose as well. Though Rudolph is somewhat important, he still is just a sleigh puller and does not deliver presents.
The presents are made by small elves who are also relatively unimportant and stand behind Santa at the malls. But they can't make the list, check it, or make any decisions.

Many children believe this story to be literal and are crushed when they find out that there is no literal Santa Claus.

I've also heard of other Holidays like Three King's Day where Jesus himself comes and delivers candy in the shoes you leave outside. But that's all I really know about it.

On Chinese New Year, by comparison, children get gifts and money from there parents.
A long time ago
The Magical Human, which either the Buddha or the Monkey King depending on region, flies down from heaven by his own power, flying in front of, or sometimes riding a long monster with a horn and faces that vary from region to region. The monster is called a lion, but is clearly not.
Actually in My Sifu's village, the Buddha/Shaman/Monkey is present in the story, but absent in the later ritual.
Nobody knows or cares where these two really came from, and the gift they deliver is savior from another monster, again absent in the ritual and present only in the story, having the name Nian/Year. In some stories, both monsters are Nians, one good one bad.

The ritual is interesting when compared with the Santa Claus Ritual.
The Buddha/Monkey/Human goes around with the Monster Lion door tor door in broad day light. Instead of giving gifts to children it receives money wherever it goes giving a blessing. Nobody believes that the creature is real as they can see the human feet underneath. Children, who often need constant reassuring that Santa Claus is real, need constant reassuring that the monster is fake. I recall as a child knowing that the lion was fake, being able to see the human underneath. But with the firecrackers and strong movements of the lion and occasional blinking of the eyes. I was convinced somehow that the creature was both real and fake at the same time, to the point that I believed the creature was able to devour me. I hid underneath a table pulling me mother with me when one came into the bakery we were eating at to bless the kitchen in the back.

Although the "Magical" Humans in the story have power over the Lion Head, and travel with it door to door, the focus is definitely on the Lion. Christmas focuses on Santa the Human. The Lion gets money where as Santa gives gifts (getting milk and cookies in return) Santa is secretive and unseen. Quiet despite his weight and sleigh. The Lion comes with an army, drums, gongs and cymbals.

Although everyone is in on the fact that the Lions are made out of cloth, Now paper, and bamboo, the powers and spirit attributed to the fake lions are real even and more so for adults than children. We who are the lion, do believe in its blessing, perhaps more so than the business owner giving the money.

I wonder if the pagan origins of the great Alf involved putting offerings for him under a tree outside, instead of receiving gifts under a tree inside the house.

Finally, I think the most difficult thing to believe about Santa Claus, is not the miraculous feat of delivering toys to so many children in one night. After all, so many people in the world are religious, believing in an Omnipotent God until death. This God can part waters, freeze time destroy and create the world. Jesus turns water into wine, walk on water. Even Peter walks on water. Moses prays and recieves manah falling from heaven in the desert. Big deal about Santa.
Muhammad, Jesus, Vishnu, Buddha, all seem to be able to magically do much more. Just not every year around the same time with visible results in the morning.

Even our government is apparently able to electronically create money out of nothing and produce a stimulus with the wave of the hand.

The hard thing to believe about Santa is that he delivers gifts, just for being good.
If Santa Claus went around demanding gifts or your first born, Everyone would believe in Santa just a little, even if he didn't come that year. And we also know that the reason why our government can magically produce money that buys physical realities out of nothing is because it also has the power to destroy the world as we know it physically and turn it into a shell of nothing.

For that matter, the story we here about 9/11 is that a small group of people created massive amounts of destruction with box cutters.


As an adult I know there is not a literal Santa Claus. And on some level every child always knows this.

Santa is an old man in a sleigh busting his ass to make kids happy.
Believing in Santa is like believing the little guy, past his prime, can accomplish fantastic things for good if he puts some sweat into it. This is simply too difficult for adults to believe in.
To believe it is to believe that we can make a difference.

I refuse then, not to believe.