The Savannah morning news., 1903-12-25
sANrA CLAUS ArrACKEp.

It seems hard that, of all seasons Of
! the year, there should be an attack
on Santa Claus the patron saint of
| Christmastide, just when the holly
| berries are reddest and the children
are getting ready to hang up their
! stockings. Such an attack made in
! July would not appear so harsh, as
the good old saint would have ample
! time in which to recover from the
blow before going out to harness the
reindeer and put a girdle round the
| earth between suns. But to strike
| him when he is in his trappings, and
| the sled is about to start on its jour
ney for the scattering of happiness
into little hearts, is taking an ad-
vantage that cannot but be regarded
as a bit unfair.
The good Bishop Ludden OF the
Catholic diocese of Syracuse, N. Y,
is the assailant this time. He as
serts that Santa is a pagan myth, and
that it is not right to teach children
to believe in pagan myths. Conceed-
ing. for the sake of argument that
Santa is not of Christian origin, al
though his works are certainly domi-
mated by the true Christian spirit,
would it be a commendable thing to
cut his acquaintance because he was
not wise in his selection of parentage?
Assuming, too, that he is myth--also
for the sake of argument-would 1t
be advisable to put a stick of material
istic dynamite under him and blow
him into atoms for no better reason
than his mythical existence? Suppose
we were to treat all of our dearly loved
myths in like manner; how friendship
and society would suffer! How lame lit
erature would be- What wealth OF
imagery of poet and painter and story
teller would be repudiated and be-
come as dross! We should not be able
to let our children read of Little Nell,
Paul Dombey, Lord Fauntleroy, Alice
in Wonderland, and a thousand other
delightful young people, because they
are merely creatures of the imagina-
ton. If the hard, frozen truth were
rendered imperative upon all occasions
whatsoever no softening with the aid
of the Imagination being permitted UNI
der any circumstances, we fear this
would be a less pleasant world to live
in. But there is, happily, realm of
legitimate fiction into which we may
wander and which tends to enhance
the enjoyment and lessen the burdens
of life.
So much by way of feeble plea
for and justification OF Santa Claus
even If he were a myth. But we
prefer to defend him on the ground
that he exists; that he visits millions
of homes every Christmas eve; that
his mission is one of tenderest love
and most sincere concern for the hap
piness of little children. And he i'm
parts his spirit of kindly considera-
ton to grown-ups as well as children,
thus causing everybody to expand the
heart in charity. kindness and affec-
ton on the day which he delights to
honor with his benefactlons. To deny
the existence of Santa Claus is to
deny that there are kind fathers and
loving mothers. To appeal for his de-
portation from our shores is to appeal
for the abolition of one of the sweet
est of our customs that has hallowed
countless hearthstones in the minds of
people who live under a Christian dis
pensation. Vastly greater details fade
rapidly from the memory, but there is
probably no grey-head but can recall
vividlv some home scene of early child
hood in which Santa Claus played
leading part. Santa deserves to ex-
ist, and to receive our kindliest con-
sideration, for his manifold blessings.
We do not care if he was originally
a pagan. He has been christianized.
Indeed, his religion is as broad as
civilization.