[The Beast1]

I'll admit it. I believed in Santa Claus for way too long.

We'll attribute it to trusting the momster for too long.

Anywho, I don't really like the concept of Santa Claus. Why should I buy gifts on this fat f*cks behalf and give them to my kids? I want my kids to know who the hell bought these gifts for them and consequently be grateful for what I did.

And if they're naughty, well they should be more afraid of Krampus coming to beat them with sticks!



I'd probably tell them about Krampus first instead of Santa Claus.

[Praetor Lupus]

If I have children, I don't think I want to impose the myth of Santa Claus on them. I'd rather tell them the truth about Christmas. What's wrong with them associating it simply with a time when the family gets together, exchanges gifts (only that they can easily afford) and eats a traditional winter feast?

Also, I'd probably get shitloads of calls from school and parents complaining that my kids had upset everyone by telling them that Santa Claus doesn't exist, so there's the potential for some lulz there, too.

[SteveMcMahon]

One of the pleasures of being a parent is lying to your children.

My Dad told me a monster lived under my bed and would eat me if I got up after bedtime.



My Mum told me that ice cream vans played their chimes to warn people they'd sold out of ice cream.



"But why are other kids at the van, Mum?"
"Because they're drunk, son"

My teacher told me that if we boys ate too many sweets, we'd grow boobs like hers.


She looked exactly nothing like this

My gran told me that if I opened an umbrella indoors, the Devil would hide under it.


Seems legit.

My uncle Dave told me that Chinese girls have sideways vaginas.

[Chaos]

^ about the Chinese girls is a classic.


When I was a kid, parents and elderly people always warned us to not go too close to the river. Because there is "Näcken" sitting and playing violin and he/she is an expert in luring there little kids and he/she will drown everyone that comes too close.

   

[TheWastelander]

If they told me the Näcken looked like that, I probably would've taken my chances.

[Chaos]

^ Well, he could also look like this.

   

[SteveMcMahon]

(12-03-2014 11:57 AM)TheWastelander Wrote:  

If they told me the Näcken looked like that, I probably would've taken my chances.

Damn right.

In the UK, we had this guy:

[TheWastelander]

(12-03-2014 12:02 PM)Chaos Wrote:  

^ Well, he could also look like this.

You Scandinavians just have to ruin everything, don't you?

[Rawmeo]

My relatives also warned me about sideway pussies for Asians...

[Big Nilla]

Santa is great. Let kids bask in their imagination, innocence, and naivety of believing in him. Don't steal that away from them like Western society has stolen pretty much all innocent joys of childhood. Their belief in Santa will only last until about 9-years old, anyway. If done right, Santa and Christmas festivities will give children fond and lasting memories until the day they die. It's cruel to needlessly crush them with reality earlier than necessary. With those fun and innocent childhood memories, when your kids are adults they'll do the same for their kids. Thus passing down traditions; and in a way sustaining culture.

I have my 2 boys write letters to Santa and as an added touch I write Santa letters back. I also give them a nice build-up to Christmas by letting them wake up to a present they can each open (boring, cheap presents labeled from mom/dad) each of the 3 morning before Christmas. Also do the usual watching of Christmas movies and cartoons from Thanksgiving night until Christmas Eve to keep stoking the spirit, burning memories into their minds, and creating traditions they'll pass down the line.

I do pick my battles, though. Had to say most Santas they see aren't real and that they're just helping Santa out because he's so busy up in the North Pole... also said Rudolph and Frosty aren't real when asked to not damage my credibility on Santa being real. The only thing missing for my kids is the snow and cold that adds a lot to the whole Christmastime spirit.

[Sonsowey]

I remember my brother was way too old, like middle school, before he learned the Easter Bunny wasnt real. He just like looked devatated and went into his room alone upset for a long time. Must have been a real wakeup call...

[spokepoker]

I will tell my children about Santa.
I have great fond memories of wondering what Santa will bring me when I was a kid, going through the huge Sears Christmas "wishlist" catalogs, circling the one thing I wanted Santa to get me, then giving it to my parents so they could inform him.
It was such a great feeling waking up Christmas morning, full of wonder and excitement and joy to see what Santa had brought. If I remember correctly, we did the whole Santa thing, milk and cookies on the fireplace mantle, going to bed early so as not to scare him away.

I can still feel those feelings if I recall hard enough, great times as a kid full of wonderment and believing whatever my parents told me.

There were other "lies", but I think most of them were practical, like washing the "poisonous" powder off of rice before cooking it.

[Sonsowey]

I have dealt with children and tried to explain things to them in rational ways, why x y z needs to be done... They do not care.

Lie away, if you need to envoke dragons and demons to get them to do what is right, go for it. Try explaining to a kid why they need to eat vegetables instead of cheetos...

[Mercenary]

The "modern" red and white santa claus was created by the coca cola company which has existred since the year 1886.
Before that santa was always in dark colors.

Source:
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/...anta-claus

Quote:

The Santa Claus we all know and love — that big, jolly man in the red suit with a white beard — didn’t always look that way.

In fact, many people are surprised to learn that prior to 1931, Santa was depicted as everything from a tall gaunt man to a spooky-looking elf. He has donned a bishop's robe and a Norse huntsman's animal skin. In fact, when Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was a small elflike figure who supported the Union. Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan to the red he’s known for today.

Here, a few other things you may not have realized about the cheerful guy in the red suit.

1. Santa Has Been Featured in Coke Ads Since the 1920s
The Coca-Cola Company began its Christmas advertising in the 1920s with shopping-related ads in magazines like The Saturday Evening Post. The first Santa ads used a strict-looking Claus, in the vein of Thomas Nast. In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department-store Santa in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda fountain, which was located in the department store Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post in December 1930.

2. Coca-Cola Helped Shape the Image of Santa
In 1931 the company began placing Coca-Cola ads in popular magazines. Archie Lee, the D'Arcy Advertising Agency executive working with The Coca-Cola Company, wanted the campaign to show a wholesome Santa who was both realistic and symbolic. So Coca-Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa. For inspiration, Sundblom turned to Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (commonly called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. (And even though it's often said that Santa wears a red coat because red is the color of Coca-Cola, Santa appeared in a red coat before Sundblom painted him.) Sundblom’s Santa debuted in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as in Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and others. From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola advertising showed Santa delivering toys (and playing with them!), pausing to read a letter and enjoy a Coke, visiting with the children who stayed up to greet him, and raiding the refrigerators at a number of homes. The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca-Cola advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are popular collectibles. Sundblom created his final version of Santa Claus in 1964, but for several decades to follow, Coca-Cola advertising featured images of Santa based on Sundblom’s original works. These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art collection in the company’s archives department and have been on exhibit around the world, in famous locales including the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, the Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, and the NK Department Store in Stockholm. Many of the original paintings can be seen on display at World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga.

3. The "New Santa" Was Based on a Salesman
In the beginning, Sundblom painted the image of Santa using a live model — his friend Lou Prentiss, a retired salesman. When Prentiss passed away, Sundblom used himself as a model, painting while looking into a mirror. Finally, he began relying on photographs to create the image of St. Nick. People loved the Coca-Cola Santa images and paid such close attention to them that when anything changed, they sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company. One year, Santa's large belt was backwards (perhaps because Sundblom was painting via a mirror). Another year, Santa Claus appeared without a wedding ring, causing fans to write asking what happened to Mrs. Claus. The children who appear with Santa in Sundblom’s paintings were based on Sundblom's neighbors — two little girls. So he changed one to a boy in his paintings. The dog in Sundblom’s 1964 Santa Claus painting was actually a gray poodle belonging to the neighborhood florist. But Sundblom wanted the dog to stand out in the holiday scene, so he painted the animal with black fur.

4. Santa Claus Got a New Friend in 1942
In 1942, Coca-Cola introduced "Sprite Boy," a character who appeared with Santa Claus in Coca-Cola advertising throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Sprite Boy, who was also created by Sundblom, got his name due to the fact that he was a sprite, or an elf. (It wasn’t until the 1960s that Coca-Cola introduced the popular beverage Sprite.)

[spokepoker]

Just to put it a bit in perspective, here is Santa pre-1930's.:
1294


1696


1810


1863


1864


1868


1881


1902


1906


1913


continued next post due to image limit-

[spokepoker]

1914


1918


1920


Special WW2 Santa:

[godfather dust]

If I have children (I'd like to say when but I could die or the world could end by the time I finish this post, never know) I'm going to tell them the truth:

Santa is Satan.

Just look at the damn names.

The devil needed to disguise himself as Santa to turn December into the month where all the evil in men is at it's peak.

After all, who in their right mind would believe:
In the name of Jesus (forgive me lord)
in honor of His birthday
This next month you will be guilt tripped to buy cheap shit built by chinese slaves owned by pharisees talmuds, regardless of whether it is in you or your families best interest.

[Enigma]

(12-25-2016 01:28 PM)spokepoker Wrote:  

1902

Looks like Santa's about to empty his sack on their carpet.

[YoungBlade]

Idk wtf y'all are talking about, I still get presents from Santa. This morning my stocking had all natural soap, a Yeti cup, and a bunch of peppermint.

Y'all just get coal, I bet.

[EvanWilson]

You mean Santa is not real?!?!

[Parzival]

In my area there is the Christkind coming, not Santa Claus.

I don't support the idea to scare kids to educate or rise them. This will set a seamen of fear in their hearts and they will always stay behind their full potential.