I know its just a stupid consumerist holiday or whatever, but damn finding out the truth gave 9 year old me issues with trust.

  • kilternkafuffle [any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    So in the USSR we had (and in many of its successor states today still have) "Grandfather Frost." Same decorated conifer tree, same dressed up dude (though just as likely to be in blue as red), same presents.

    The difference is there is no naughty/nice list. You're a child, you get presents - and not just from your family, but also your (pre)school, your children's library, your parents' workplace, wherever you attend a celebration. (Of course, with more capitalism, the emphasis is turning now more toward people buying presents for themselves, rather than public institutions distributing them.) There are children's stories where Grandfather Frost does deal in justice, good for good, bad for bad, but in your own life it's presents guaranteed for all.

    The questionable aspect of making up stories for children is still there, but anybody being left without presents is seen as an injustice.

      • kilternkafuffle [any]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Oh, indeed. She's somehow slightly subordinate like the traditional mother, but also like the traditional mother she does most of the actual caring work (singing/dancing/entertaining/speaking to children directly) so she's the one you feel closer to. And unlike Mrs. Claus she's not some afterthought reinforcing the nuclear family structure, she's a free woman/magical spirit that has no need of a man.

        • sailorfish [she/her]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Yeah I really like that she's usually a granddaughter, and definitely not a wife. Also dressing up as her as a kid is fun haha