Twas the Month Before Christmas...and Corporate's Reports Due

“His eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples how merry! His cheeks were like rosees, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth as drawn up like a bow, and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.”

Now what is more romantic than that image? Saint Nicholas is indeed one of America’s most romantic figures, especially during the most romantic holiday of the year, Christmas.

The idea behind Santa is so romantic; he epitomizes equality, love, and giving. The day that every child receives a toy, despite their economic situation, family life, race, age, or location reflects justice in the most pure form. This jolly, red-clad man with a beard receives each child’s wish, packs up the reindeer, flies to each roof, slides down every chimney, and produces that child’s wish in a nice little package; it’s almost too much to bear. He creates stability and sense of hope, that each Christmas there will be joy. “A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.”

The emotions a human feels for this mysterious man completely overthrow the facts that one man cannot produce the billions of toys it would take to give every American child their wish, reindeer can’t fly, and chimneys are not built to have overweight men sliding down them. However, he is doing a good deed, making children happy, and maintaining peace throughout the world for one night, and so we completely overlook the realities at hand.

Not to be a buzz kill, but Santa Clause is in fact a romantic figure produced and replicated to maintain political and economic forces.

Santa in America was produced by corporations as the poster "child" of Christmas spirit; Christmas spirit in corporate eyes being equivalent to how many diamonds, choo-choo trains, and silk ties were sold for that quarter. The economic push behind Santa is that if a parent has enough cash to make their little kid’s dreams come true for one day, they can embody the mystery and wonder of the man in red. Each parent strives to have that adoration from their child and maintain a sense of innocence and wonder in them as long as possible.The political realities are, that if a child does not receive at least one gift from "Santa", they were bad that year and do not deserve a gift. Santa's romantic image produces joy, equality, and a warm fuzzy feeling as reflected in poems such as "T'was the Night Before Christmas". However, as much wonder and mystery he produces, Santa in America is an outlet for creating economical gaps and disappointed children on a day created for appreciating family and celebrating religious values; and away he flies "like the down of a thistle."

Now as to not kill everyone’s holiday spirit,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”