Why is Santa even so intimately linked with the Christmas celebration proper, and with Jesus? Is that part of the Cola ad creation? Because the traditional origins come from the 6th of december, St. Nicholaus day.

Here.

From here: "The passage is therefore highly suspect and adds virtually no evidence even for early Christianity. "

From here: "The passage is therefore highly suspect and adds virtually no evidence even for early Christianity. "

Good finding!  Anyway, the Romans had a fascination for Gods of all sort. They started adopting foreign religions because it must have been cool at the time I guess. They were big on the cult of Isis at some point. Also what people seem to forget is that monks were copying ancient and new  manuscripts by hand before printing was invented so there is a high probability that a few made spelling mistakes. Who knows, maybe one of them understood a text and thought it didn't make sense and started adding his own view, making a text even harder for us to understand now.

I think that Santa has a life outside evangelical Christianity and has been adopted by people who are not in anyway Christian and would run a million miles away from being 'saved'.
I suppose that Cartman in South Park does get presents but Mrs Cartman is a soft touch and, although I have difficulty remembering when, I think Eric is capable of being a little angel.
I hope that nice parents have nice children so that the question of putting them on the nasty list does not arise.
I imagine that some people who do not get presents [Jews, Hindus, Bhuddists et al excepted] just haven't got the message yet. There are people who don't get a present at Christmas.
This bugs me. Some people think that Christmasis about RECEIVING. I think that the real meaning of Christmas is about GIVING.

Some people think that Christmasis about RECEIVING. I think that the real meaning of Christmas is about GIVING.

not for children. they receive presents. dont give them.
and what about those people that can't afford presents?

I think that Santa has a life outside evangelical Christianity and has been adopted by people who are not in anyway Christian and would run a million miles away from being 'saved'.

The vast majority of 'Christmas' traditions (Santa, gift-giving, tree in the house, decorating the tree, mistletoe, Yule logs, etc) come from non-Christian rituals, mostly from Germanic folklore.

I think that some children give presents.

About affording presents, I think that the cost of the present is less important than the act of giving, A present that costs nothing will do if the attitude of the giver is one of care for the recipient.

No. Why not you may ask. Simple. I was 8,  was outside when i looked in the back of my moms truck to see bags with the word "C. Gifts" on them. Thats when i asked her what it was and she told me ' they are gifts im holding for santa ' at the moment i stopped believing because i thought why would a big fat man live in the middle of the north pole in freezing temperatures. I mean come on.

About affording presents, I think that the cost of the present is less important than the act of giving, A present that costs nothing will do if the attitude of the giver is one of care for the recipient.

All that expensive gift-giving is relatively young anyway. People nowadays can't imagine but when my grandfather was young his christmas gift usually was an orange.

That's what I'm thinking about, HahiHa.
That's why I think 'It's a Wonderful Life' is a good film. The good man may have finally fallen victim to the bad man and then all his neighbours who love him gather together to save him from ruin. It may be only a fantasy, but it's a good fantasy.