Santa Stories

ProjectX2

Don't expect me to take you with me when I go to s
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Sep 15, 2004
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This is for posting stories or news articles about Santas.
 
A Government website warns parents that a visit to see Father Christmas could be "terrifying" for small children.

Pantomimes may also be too scary and traditional party games could have youngsters in tears.

The advice for teachers on teachernet.gov.uk said: "Younger children in particular have a wide range of fears. For very young children, Father Christmas can be terrifying.

"Make sure that fearful children are near an exit. Trips to the pantomime can cause alarm, so the same planning applies."

Margaret Morrisey, from the National Conference of PTAs, said: "It is so sad that we have become so politically correct that we are trying to remove the magic of Christmas."

The advice has been taken off the website and the Department for Education said: "This is not Government policy. It does not reflect our views."
 
More than 1,500 running Father Christmases took part in the Great Scottish Santa Run in Edinburgh.

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Event organiser Margaret Rowarth said of the run, in aid of children's charity Wish Upon a Star: "It has been a fantastic day.

"There have been more Santas here than we could ever have hoped for - we had more than 1500 registered this year, where as last year there were only about 400.

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"The atmosphere has just been electric and everyone has had an amazing time. We've managed to triple the size of the event this year, so who knows what we might manage to do next year."

But Edinburgh still has some ground to make up if it wants to set the record for the most Santas in one place at one time.

The current record is held by the city of Bralanda, Sweden, when 2,685 Santas paraded through the streets.
 
A department store Santa on his way home for the night was beaten up by stressed-out Christmas shoppers in Germany.

Stefan Stettler, 31, from Wiesbaden, was still in character and chatting to other passengers while waiting for his train home.

Police say two men, allegedly stressed after a full day's Christmas shopping, lost their patience when asked to "tell Santa what they want for Christmas".

The men took Stettler's sack of presents and beat him over the head with it, breaking his fingers as he tried to protect himself.

Stettler said: "Around this time of year shoppers seem to get this glint in their eyes and you can just see they are going to go off any minute.

"I should have known better but come on, who beats up Santa Claus?"

Police are still searching for the men but have no clue as to their identities.
 
I would never in a million years have guessed there would be sufficient demand for Santa-related news items to use a thread exclusively devoted to them. Interesting. Sort of.
 
UltimateE said:
I would never in a million years have guessed there would be sufficient demand for Santa-related news items to use a thread exclusively devoted to them. Interesting. Sort of.

Hey, rearrange the leters Santa and you get Satan.
 
ProjectX2 said:
A department store Santa on his way home for the night was beaten up by stressed-out Christmas shoppers in Germany.

Stefan Stettler, 31, from Wiesbaden, was still in character and chatting to other passengers while waiting for his train home.

Police say two men, allegedly stressed after a full day's Christmas shopping, lost their patience when asked to "tell Santa what they want for Christmas".

The men took Stettler's sack of presents and beat him over the head with it, breaking his fingers as he tried to protect himself.

Stettler said: "Around this time of year shoppers seem to get this glint in their eyes and you can just see they are going to go off any minute.

"I should have known better but come on, who beats up Santa Claus?"

Police are still searching for the men but have no clue as to their identities.

Reading that got me in the spirit more than watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
 
ProjectX2 said:
Hey, rearrange the leters Santa and you get Satan.

Pearl Jam wrote in the linear notes for Vitalogy that the radio title for "Satan's Bed" should be "Santa's Bed".

That just reminded me of that.

Man, Vitalogy was a great album. I'll have to put that on my iPod tonight.
 
UltimateE said:
Pearl Jam wrote in the linear notes for Vitalogy that the radio title for "Satan's Bed" should be "Santa's Bed".

That just reminded me of that.

Man, Vitalogy was a great album. I'll have to put that on my iPod tonight.

What iPod do you have? I'm getting a Nano for Christmas.
 
UltimateE said:
Pearl Jam wrote in the linear notes for Vitalogy that the radio title for "Satan's Bed" should be "Santa's Bed".

That just reminded me of that.

Man, Vitalogy was a great album. I'll have to put that on my iPod tonight.

Indeed it was...I haven't listened to that in years. I always liked their first album too (whose name I forget at the moment).
 
ProjectX2 said:
What iPod do you have? I'm getting a Nano for Christmas.

A black 30 gb iPod Video (5th Gen.). I just picked it up a couple weeks ago and sold my 20 GB iPod Photo to my sister.

DIrishB said:
Indeed it was...I haven't listened to that in years. I always liked their first album too (whose name I forget at the moment).

The first was Ten and it's one of my least favorites (still great though). Vs., Vitalogy, and Binaural were all better than Ten.
 
UltimateE said:
The first was Ten and it's one of my least favorites (still great though). Vs., Vitalogy, and Binaural were all better than Ten.

Really? With each album I've liked their stuff less and less. I still like them, but they seemed to be trying to get too experimental with their music with each successive album, and it just didn't do it for me. Eh, to each his own.
 
ourchair said:
Thread about Santa becomes thread about Pearl Jam. Best off-topic hijacking ever!

I'm sure you and compound could turn this into some weird Warren Ellis scientific sex scandal.
 
DIrishB said:
Really? With each album I've liked their stuff less and less. I still like them, but they seemed to be trying to get too experimental with their music with each successive album, and it just didn't do it for me. Eh, to each his own.

I sort of misspoke there - I don't not like Ten. I like it a lot. But there are others that are a lot better. Riot Act wasn't very good, and No Code was decent overall but not as good as Ten.

I'd rate them in this order:

Vs.
Vitalogy
Binaural
Yield
Ten
No Code
Riot Act

Lost Dogs is fantastic but it's B-sides and rarities - doesn't really count.
 
UltimateE said:
I sort of misspoke there - I don't not like Ten. I like it a lot. But there are others that are a lot better. Riot Act wasn't very good, and No Code was decent overall but not as good as Ten.

I'd rate them in this order:

Vs.
Vitalogy
Binaural
Yield
Ten
No Code
Riot Act

Lost Dogs is fantastic but it's B-sides and rarities - doesn't really count.

I never bothered with Yield, No Code, or Riot Act. The rest were good.
 
DIrishB said:
Best? Not by any means. I think that "Christian Fundamentalist" thread morphing into a discussion about bukkakke was the best.
I've brought up bukkake so often I can't even remember when that happened.

...

Link? :D
 
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Getting back on topic now...

Is anybody else familiar with the mythology of the so-called Companions of Saint Nicholas?

From the related entry at Wikipedia:
The Companions of Saint Nicholas (or Father Christmas) are a group of closely related figures who accompany St. Nicholas in many European traditions. The tradition is particularly strong amongst the Germanic peoples, with some regional expression in America (largely from European ethnic groups). The most recognized companion, especially outside of Europe, is Knecht Ruprecht, which translates as Farmhand Ruprecht or Servant Ruprecht.

Often the subject of winter poems and tales, the Companions travel with St. Nicholas or his various equivalents (Father Christmas, Santa Claus), carrying with them a rod (sometimes a stick, bundle of switches or a whip, and in modern times often a broom) and a sack. They are sometimes dressed in black rags, bearing a black face and unruly black hair. In many contemporary portrayals the companions look like dark, sinister, or rustic versions of Nicholas himself, with a similar costume but with a darker color scheme.

Some of the companions take on more monstrous forms. Krampus and Klaubauf are variously depicted as horned, shaggy, bestial, or demonic. In many depictions the Krampus looks like popular images of the Devil, complete with red skin, cloven hooves, and short horns.

It is unclear whether the various companions of St. Nicholas are all expressions of a single tradition (likely Knecht Ruprecht), or a conflation of multiple traditions. Various texts, especially those outside the tradition, often treat the companions as variations on a single Knecht Ruprecht tradition.
Certain versions of Knecht Ruprecht are apparently downright ghoulish. Like so:

krampus.jpg

a representation of Krampus, the Austrian equivalent of Knecht Ruprecht
 
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