Santa – How St Nick Became One of Capitalisms Key Figures

12-21-21

Episode Transcription

Made by robots, for robots.

Ham, man, Oh happy holidays, hey how the gun! I fear, I feel cheerful, why? I don't know: Okay, Hey man, Hey! What's up, have you ever heard of Sana? No! This is a good one. We already did the episode about him, though now we did yeah remember how he's red and his horns so the little weird tail yeah we did Satan took a break and then did Sanna. We did Satan mice and Sanda you're telling me they're different. That's the that's the really! What Christmas is all about. Seeing my licence sat. You know the three wise men, okay, so Sana Santa Saint Nick, Oh so you've heard of them. I've heard the tails disclaimer. If you're listening to this episode with your kids, stop just like the disclaimer from the sand, Satan episode, Teaou, Your Kids, stop! If you listen to our podcast with your kids in general, chill out on that you, if you don't, want your kids to know the dark side of saint o'clock, I make you get out of here, things's, pretty accurate. I'm glad you made that disclaimer yeah me too, because some people rely pretty upset if you're an adult, hey o. We were, let's have a conversation, real quick yeah conversation with Tillin I'll, never forget. I was at a table a chill like dog. I was at a table very similar to this one. When someone told you the truth, yeah I sat down, it was I it was very similar to when I was toned up. My name wasn't: Tj came home from school, a e at the table and they're like Tj, and they sit down your parents back down with you they're like sit down. We the have a talk, and I was like- and I was like I like. I know my name's not Tj, and they were like. No, it's not about that to so like this is about Satan. Sanna Seh is the deal if you're watching this. Is this still you your as no Okaya this and you're an adult or if you're, listening to this and you're an adult. I have some sad news that we need to get out of the way from the front. The SANA that you know in love is a by product of Coca Cola. He was a marketing tool of the use in the S and s to sell more Coca Cola. Sorry to ruin your life yeah he's, not the presence. Your Dad worked really hard for, or your mom wow rely yeah. I'm really glad that you went the sex is bad or your mom work really hard for that. You get cancer, this guy from your church or some other couple from your church. Oh okay, it's o o rating gifts. Somebody we rounds like your dad worked hard for the E or your mom or some guy from your church, and I like all right like so freeer year, but you wending your family and be like listen Deborah. You need a man who can provide gifts for your kids and give credit to Sanna. These are from is humble enough to get credit to sit San. I would like to take you out. Why do you think your mom loved that Song Sang a baby baby? Okay, so anyway, anyways not that that's out of the way. So Sana he's got an organ story: Yeah he does and there's probably bits and pieces. Every villain does there's bits and pieces of it you've probably heard of before yeah. But honestly, even looking digging into this there's a lot that I never heard and there's a lot that I'm like, oh well, that's how that just kind of turned in or flood it became sure just like Satan. This is actually can be very similar to the Satan episode perfect. So I guess we should begin really putting your degree to work. Yeah Yeah! I guess we should begin with saying it in the Old Testament. No okay! So Yeah! Where do you start? I think the best place to start to Saint Nick. So if you don't know, the story of San Nick Sat nick was a dude in the fourth century and he was that's way longer ago than I I thought, hm what part of the World Myra North Carolina or century North Car. You know year three hundred eighty three Ul beach. No, he was he was born in or he lived in Myra, which is modern day DEM re that if you know where that is, but it's a town in in Greece during the fourth century, he was born to parents who had prayed for a long time for a child because they couldn't have kids and they ended up having him. So it was like this real miracle baby yeah. They both actually died shortly after his birth of totally unrelated reasons, and so he became an orphan and was raised under one of the local priests and the priest talked about it. He's like he's like it really was. I don't have an explanation for how it happened, but he was just a great kid like he was just the priest talks about it. He edidit today, you try. You know it's good kid. I think a a yeah. We talk about the priest talks about it. Well, I mean the priests like Ron stuff down. Okay, they had es he sent to people that like got things I like a Nicholas so nick. He had a pretty big inheritance from his parents, though, and so when he be carfree get the inheritance to I mean I guess well I mean I get they do now to I guess at least in four century Greece. What kind of inheritance I don't know exactly the hair. How old is pretty big? I don't know how old he was. He was a child like a young child when his parents died got the inheritance when he became there. This is your house now and he was like he was like cool. Can someone explain utilities to me again? I don't understand the fourth century. EANT CAROL A taxes. I don't get the taxes thing. Okay, I get, then they just take my money every year and they don't do anything. That is it's always work yeah. So so so he gets the inheritance, but he was always kind of the kind of guy where he was just like humble and he didn't need nice things, and so he always was kind of like. I don't need this inheritance, so he never really touched it. Okay, but there was this local family. The guy had three daughters, but he didn't have the money to marry them off and in that culture the father had to put up the money to make them off. They got married and no wife was good right. If they couldn't get married and the father couldn't put up the money to marry them off, then they would go into slavery. That was kind of the two options for women and that day, and he thought that was wrong. He didn't like that and he knew he couldn't change the Sissone Nick Yeah. I well he's not saying yet yeah just Nicholas just Nicholas just okay, so regular nick regular nick. He knew he could to do that and but he also knew humiliating for the father if he just gave him a bunch of money to pay for his daughters, and so one night he just snuck over to the house and tossed a bunch of gold in the chimney. So that way that one of the daughters could get married, and so that happened and happenstance they had a bunch of their socks hanging up to dry. Next to this chimney and the gold fell in the SOK o o by that on that part, I don't buy that o the next morning, an hotoke you're telling me this guy shooting gold through the chimney and hitting ten out of ten nothing but sock. Are you kidding her and I'm sure there was gold all over the floor too, but there's such a sucks. How was enough to marry her off, and so then they started praying he just marry one of them. Please he's! Oh because the father has to put up the the fit has to put up the money, and so he has tiles. She was still like that you know okay, yeah yeah, so the father basically had to buy by to marry your daughter pay me baby to do it. I'd like to be your daughter, that'll, be fifty an here's. Here's my invoice. You know you can I mean I take. I don't take checks, it's two thousand and twenty one yeah, but you can cash at me just scan my qr code. Here you go so the daughter got married and then he started praying and like at the the Var the fathers praying for the other daughters to be able to give like wow God. Please send more make it Rales and lane gold coinsdown into my socks, down my timney's and so Nicholas. Does it again and again and pays for all three daughters to get oh by literally throwing money into the chimney while the third time he does it he gets caught. Somebody is like he wos, like he neeme we've heard about two instances of you throwing golden chimney or doing a true crime podcast. We Are we're trying to figure out a host in the Golden, the chimney you know, and so so we were ordering. If you be availe for an interview, real quick, we can jump on a new, you you're, being recorded you're, really it right now and it's four hundred all right, the three, the fourth it there's a guy over here with the Stone Tab just is like it could be real hard to get this in everyone's riss yeah. No, I knew I was being recorded. I can hear him a mile away, you know, guy in a super sun jumps out and it's like mutual combat, there's another guy over a different quarter. Also chiseling was like and then he jumped down and said you tual combat, but the user vs, and that's how you know. As the fourth century moves know, you know that the Phoenix judge jumped out of the fire, Sara saying the US are vs. you know how they call you get in and know how they couldn't do round in to use they could it they just didn't these. Were you yo know that, okay, so anyways to say, nick or first, who drew you, they freaking paraded him around. Oh, my gosh, so we're got out that Saint Nick was throwing money down people's Fuca fire to me. Everyone was like everyone's walking by on town they're, like they're they're, opening their socks hopping on one leg, just like a I mysse would hate is some goal fell in here you know. Well, what happened is he would, on his birthday every year, go around to all the kids and throw gold wherever I y new kids live just throw golden the chimney for the kids, and so he was just a friendly dude. He did en kid birthday would leave their shoes and their socks by the chimney to in hopes of catching the gold in their socks, which I mean just pick it up, but it's what ever I I well if it's as e floor, it's bad luck for a year at gold. That's that's! For Gold, that's fog! We can use it! That's how snobby everyone was in the three hundreds they're like, oh that's or so his legacy outlived him as being this dude. who was just incredibly generous. He always given stuff away. He ended up becoming a saint in the Greek Orthodox Church, and then there was the sixth of December became Saint Nicholas Day, okay, and so they always would celebrate and what people would do as they would give gold to their children in their socks under the fireplace every Saint Nicholas Day. Okay, so it was kind of a very a cold yeah, very early precursor to you know. It was really weird bad times that sometimes people w l get gold coins and it would be like why they flip it over and they go. Are you disappointed on the back? So you disappointed that this isn't real gold I'll tell you what is real gold Jesus Christ? It's like! Oh, you know those fake hundred or bills, fake gold, so Martin Luther this is this is silly man's goal. They didn't know the word full yet so about a thousand years later, Martin Luther during the reformation yeah is like everything. Catholics got to go, and that includes Saint Nicholas Day. That was in the on his reformation papers. Yeah everything yea is ninety five CS, PCS number. Ninety three get rid of Ta Nicklas Day out of here a yeah replace it, and so he moved it to Christmas. On the two thousand and fifteen of it yeah, he was like he's like well celebate Christmas on the twenty fife decent. When did they get Wenti Christmas start being on twenty fifth December? Well, we're going to get there, I mean we can jump into that right. It's a different topic. It's relatively similar! It's Edi! I was going to cover it. Okay, okay, do sorry about it. Do your little lesson plan or whatever. Well, this is perfect. It's a perfect chance to get a little pig in perfect a perfect pagan moment yeah. This is perfect, Pagan, Pagan, yeah, I'M THE PERFECT PAGAN! Okay, so I here's the deal. Everything Christian is Dolin from Pagan Religion, yeah yeah, actually very accurate because they were like it's basically like how. Basically Christians saw people doing stuff and they were like that's Christian now and they were like wait. What I like? No, you can't listen to music, but you could listen to Christian Musa. So basically what happened was like. Does anybody know what the Christian alternative to Christmases and the guys like Yeah I've actually got a poster over here, both Rismas, I in the Christian alternative to Christmas, actually you'll be surprised. They call it Christmas before it. They did. Oh, and so this poster here you'll see cutlass is the Christian Slip Knot and a cur? That's as hard as I ithout, even in Christmas anyway, third day, the Christian nickel back. Yes, they are it's so an so. There was a couple of Pagan religions. Read is the Christian creed? I think right that isn't he Christian with arms, Wide Barn? Have you or a love on been diagnosed with too many advertisements during the till an podcast? Have we got good news for you, our patrons enjoy, add free experience and they get early access to content behind the scene, stuff, exclusive merchandise and access to a private discord channel. We all are in it our producers and the hosts. So if you'd like to be a patron today and solve that problem, why don't you text till in to six six, eight, six, six! You know: okay, so s, some Pagan Holidays, so akin holidays, there's a couple of them in December in December sombody how under the winter? So is. Oh, my God, I don't know you should prepare for some of my question time. Okay, so there was the winter. Solstice was a thing yeah a long time, and so basically it was the holiday in the northern countries. Okay call in the North Countries, for if you want to say north but shorter, nor you're too lazy to say nor a bunch of the norse norse country. Maybe it was north the whole time and someone has had a lisp well yeah, the North countries that tracks we go by north o t about norse s. We conquered you so it's north. Now there was the midwinter of that they called Yule and so you'll try to get you all tied from and part of. This was the father in the summer. They would go out in the woods and they would get what was called your lock, which was just a big log that they would light on fire all Christmas. Well, all youll perfect as they could see because they were so far it last the whole time. Well, here's the thing it was the winter solstice and they were so far north that it was that time of year where it was dark forever, like the suddint, come out, that's right, and so it's a really weird season because they for them, especially at that time of the world you had the sun, doesn't come up for months. It's super cool because it's the winter and then also you're, very superstitious so and everybody round, you believe and go a and s die from the races. It's super cool everyone around he's, getting diseases or dying because they're super cold, yeah and the sun won't come out and so that time of year, you're like this is evil. There's evilness afoot and it happens every year, and so they would light the logs on fire and use that to fend off evil spirits. And then there was this idea that there was these gods like Odin that were coming and protecting people or killing people and and evidence by here's, the guy who died and here's a guy. I was just thinking I was like how do you know if it works? Oh yeah, they died. Yeah, they lived interesting that everyone who did the right things got anyway, and so it interesting little side Bar. There was a cult of Mithra. The cult Mithra. Have you heard of that? So there's this. I think you've heard of myth roll at s same thing. So this is a very interesting, almost all side, tangent, okay, I don't know enough about it for us to go super deep into it, but there was a I real. The dark, the Iranian God of the Sun Mythra had a pretty big cult following and an around the similar time of the year. What they would do is to guarantee their survivall through the winter basically and then ask and also ask for favor for the following year. They would go to this celebration where there was this giant idol of Mithra, which was the god of the Sun, and this God was honestly picture. The fiery furnace from veggie tales with you had a giant chest that just opened up, and you threw your kids in there and said they sacrificing their kids yeah. They sacrifice their kids to this God to be like here's. What I want for this year or help me survive this winter. Here's my child, how many kids did people have back then enough? What you could throw summer one away for every year, and then how do you decide which one yeah I mean it probably worked a lot better than the cold for Christmas thing, yeah be good or I'm throwing you in Mitres is well. We have high expectations as a family here, what's really interesting about Mithras, for this discussion, two things one: He wore a red hat with a little white boof ball at the end of it interesting little, poof, ball, okay, and to here's, something that so very very predated Christianity, but he this God Mithras. He was the god of the Sun and his role in mythology and I'm shaky on the story line, but whatever it was, he died for the sins of his followers and he rose again three days after okay, very odd anyways. That's all I know we all wearing a poof ball was o fat and people were in accepting child sacrifice in his chest. Give me I oh that's darker now like yeah, we go. Take our annual pictures with Mittra one less kid: every year I watch the YouTube mythra bass pro he orated. I watch the Youtube video actually, where a guy was like raging about Santa. He was very mad. You can tell the way narrated it and he showed a bunch of pictures of kids like crying on Sanna's lap yeah and he was like he was like. Why do you think infants always hate Santa because they know they like he's like he's like they can sense the evil. In her look at those moments, trouth now mom mither a sacrifice, your kid outside of J C Penny. So so they took okay. So there's a little bit of a s mythology. They took some stuff from myth, rest and then they just Chile, Little Oran of Sane, Dick! Well, here's what happened! There became this teaching of. In Finland there was a guy named you Lo Boki, you Lubo. I believe, that's how you say that. Why do you sound like you're talking to a baby right? Now? You believe here's the translation of that here's, the translation, Christmas, goat, Oh heck, yeah de that's what they called Sina the Christmas go well, and I don't really understand why but he's the Ulupi, which is a I'm calling sane from now. Is it a creepy? Looking goat? I don't think so. Let me pull up a picture. I imagine like the goat from no last I, which movie was where it's just like this. Is the Christmas goat he's like red eyes and he's like is it's honestly? He looks at very similar to SANA. Okay. He just got a longer beard, like he's still wearing all the same. Clothes he's just got a longer greater beard, it's like of Gand off and saying now we're one person, okay, I've seen so I call and thin he's tall and thin too also so, okay, but he's called a goat yeah because apparently he turns into a goat on Christmas. I don't really understand yeah, but it's a hard way to find out that you're, the next one. You know it's like it's The t Tim Alan Movie For one day he wakes up, but he looks in the Mer and he's he's tired. You know he wakes up his grog an we up, he's shaving his little goat, but he's like winsie. I don't. I don't have a good tea weird longer than normal shaped yesterday, he's a got a little Bir, but he's that sound weird goes downstairs, makes breakfast throws the breakfast in the trash eats the plate right just bite and random stuff right gets in his car he's like well hold on it's like, because you can't sit. Yeah he's trying to full he's, got full just extend that's when he made that's what he realized realizes something's Nowright I sat down and his horn got stuck in that little handle in this car and he's Oh, what the Oh in the litle full o that still never realizing what happens gets all the way to work right. He walks on. I was like you poky he's a quick talking me like that. I'm a grown man, then he sits on his computer, tries to type he got hold dude he's like wow, I don't em big is difficult. How are you now realizing you're, a goat, my guy? Oh my gosh, and then a little Elf shows up that's when he realized something was up so over the next few years and by next fees in me next couple hundred years, yeah, that's how time worked in history. I was just like. I know some time years there was a Babylonian exile. Yeah people were celebrating Saint Nicholas Day. Parents were giving gold and eventually just like toys to their kids yeah on Saint Nicholas Day, Saint Nicholas is ne, now been moved to December twenty fifth by Luther Yeah, because he's like he's a K, we're not Catholic he's like really not Catholic, and there was all these different names given to him based on the country they're in so I was like basically translations, so you got center clots, which was Saint Nick, but in Dutch you had you Lu Pooki, which is saying nick, but in goat and then obviously at Saint Nicholas, you had Christ child. Let's see, there's another one around I hear somewhere, I don't know it doesn't matter but sit les. All these closes yeah all these other SOS things that sounded like Santa Claus until eventually, because history is just one giant game of real life. Telephone, yes, yeah before the telephone, when the telephone came out there like the wee slice er, what do they call telephone or is you know that game's got a been around? I mean? No. I don't think it came out until Christmas. What yeah, okay so go ahead, so anyways. So in eighteen, twenty three there was an author who also he wrote a couple things. It doesn't matter. Okay, he wrote a couple really famous things. It does kind of manner, but I'm not going to talk about him. What he did talk about. What in was his. I was the night before Christmas, Oh and kind of night before Crout, this story of Sana, yeah show or not. VERSO was stirring, not even a Yuki Po. You Lo Poky, okay, you look, I don't know what I said You keep pooling, and so so so this new story of a yeah. Yes, sorry, just a really weird picture of a Pretzel midsins O stop your brain stops functioning for a second because and then you followed up a sorry. I just sorry. I just saw a really weird picture of my Pretzel. Are we do we doing a podcast episode right now? This is the least professional thing I've ever heard. Let me see it is this gonna like a dude if it's just a normal Pretzel, I'm going to be really in no what it, what I'm pulling it up home? Is it an advertisement? No there. It is his a weird pressel right. I guess now weird enough for me be like hold on. Let me talk about this. For a second s, the thing is that they, okay, you got to save that. So Connor can put it in the video yeah. Whatever okay, I would you, Google imaging something and that's what popped at. How did this okay? So this? What happened? Is that your search history? Do you search? Did you get on there and you searched Carlton biceps extra, ten, Weird Pretzel, so here's what was going on? Okay, let me explain this. I don't, I would love for I do so one those ght hundred and forty five o o no work. I would mean to explaind the wine beat laying again: okay, okay, a new name for San a had a rose called Chris cringle, okay, and the reason for that was, I think, a marking campaign to sell pretzels, because cringle was another word for pretzels, so they just tried to coo, and that was what the cringles look like. was that picture I hadn't clicked on the cringle with you gain it. I was like well, we know two things about our business right. We are a Pretzel Making Company. Well, they call them males. We were kringle creators, green creators, yeah and we're not Catholic yeah. So we need a mask God, that's definitively, not Catholic! And Oh what about that? So? Where about that Uli Pooki, we can work with that. You work with that. What? If we're the same was Chris and he gave everybody pretzels crinkles. Sorry Chris Cre Chris Cringle, better than Chris Pretzel Rename our pretzels crinkles. I think that's what happened? Okay, but anyways yeah that I had T. that's how you got to Oncet page for cringle picture of us at that really weird cringle. It's a weird crinkle, okay, crazy, crinkle, crazy, cringle, anyways. All right that makes sense. Then yeah we can cut it all out. So over the next like a couple dozen years Saana, it is taking a lot of different forms. He is well keeper other they can use that for marketing, because then everyone's got a common myth year, a common legend yeah there. There are so many religions around the world that are so things more popular, big foot or Santa. I guess I say Sana, but but also yeah may move should start a pull, because you can do the thing if you're over in another country that doesn't celebrate Christmas. You still know about book foot. That's true! It's very weird to me that adults are like yeah yeah. I understand how Saint I worked, but big foots real. You know I mean: Do you not throw out thinks get off this, whatever? Okay, so so saying all these different, I'm just thinking they're common legends, yeah that people all over the world now. So then companies can start to figure out like kringle creators, cree companies- yes and go. Everyone knows about this dude exactly and so the holidays from Star is o holidays. Had Him, but everybody who would depict this Chris, cringle or SAIC character would depict him differently. It was almost always an older guy with a really big beard, but sometimes he was tall and thin. Sometimes he was short and stumpy. But honestly, if you think about it, that's all you need to identify a Santa Claus. Now is a a big white beard yeah, I kind of it a large man and a red suit. No, you don't need the red suit well back, then they didn't have the Rusu either a lot of times it was green. Sometimes it was red, but the poofy hat was always a feature and gray like and the the almost weird bathrobe thing was always a feature he gar cloak yeah. Yes, yes and he wrote a sleigh which is something sat. Nick actually did he wrote a sleigh around and he had a couple dogs that pulled him in this way. What which I guess was like a normal form of transport? Oh okay, for cars, now here just on my sleigh, which also can go, there was a pagan myth. I forgot about this: There's a Pagan myth that apparently there's a fresco somewhere where her a similar Santa like adjacent figure in a Pagan Myth. I don't know which one it was, but one of those earlier ones like the Yulie, okay, there's a myth where he gets pulled by snakes with wings in his slave okay. That was not the direction I was prepared for you to go like yeah, okay, so picture this Ol make it this Samians right here: slay brows gold and people's chimneys mixed in their socks. Every time also pulled on a sleigh. I like yeah, I'm tracking with you. I see a with this by snakes with wings, yea winged, snakes, winged, winged, winged snakes. Yes, yes, so I don't know, I can't remember which one that which myth that is, but it's some myth with this ancient God that gets pulled on this, lay okay slaves pulled by winged snakes, which is very fun. Oh Dad! That's something I I that's lither. Some people think that that's where that came from is because they were flying snakes that were dragging in a sleigh. So some people are like why eventually morphed into flying rein, deer because they were easier to stomach that yeah yeah and that's how evolution works to everybody. Now they spray from snake, you get it yeah every reindeer starts as a little tiny snake. That's why they lay a case. That's Oh! What so so so saying a over the late eighteen, hundreds, okay, look like a lot of different things. Yeah. When does he get defined? Well in the probably about the e s he starts. Showing up at shopping is not that long ago, no, not okay. In N N E D Net, he starts showing up at shopping malls with guess what flying snakes? No, no weird pretzels, no, no close, both by fiery called hen to sacrifice children. What do you? What do you talk about? All of these guesses, very, very close reindeer, no, the Salvation Army, so he was above San, a the king, the Bell Guy. This makes sense. Okay and in a e n y out, so did the Bell Gris even up until recently weren't they didn't. They have to dress like Santa Claus. I don't know if they just like Santa Art, they just dressed in red chrysos stuff. Maybe they did Jess Lic San, I don't know, I feel I guess an I feel like they said they were saying us had they now and it. Someone was like I care about this, but not that much you know so, all of a sudden they were like all right, just say: Hey. Would you stay up there for a couple hours O ring this bell? Is this a Manila? I do you remember this Alex to a the dress like an is yeah. I think this is a mafet. I don't it to made. If I I just fact, I think it is changed it over time just because they had something I were like. I like it's, not a Mandela infect to go. Oh yeah, remember when Shrek was on the SHRIK movies came out and new Mandela and hines had green ketchup. Do you remember that, and all of us are just like yeah there's, no one is run down. No one is up right now is like no. No one of this group is like you're making that up. You know, I remember them dressed as flying snakes, not a single person is not a Mandela effect if it was if it happened whatever so Saina was out there collecting money, which is you know what I er. I remember your name being TJ before and you're telling me your name. Is Him this whole time new man o that's a bad de effect right there so saint as used to be the salvation ARY people which makes sense because they've they cooped that yeah. What's ironic because, because Sana he like, you know how Sangit gives back to people, what, if you gave to US exactly yeah they're like a I yes say, nick threw money at other people. What, if you throw money at him now so Sana became the Saint Nick Guy and then what they noticed was hey. All the kids are coming to the shopping malls and the Christmas season to chin, see yeah to see Santa, and so they rely taking pictures back en they were taking their tragic fixtures in all these families are showing up and they guys a guy with the hood out there. They got a they're brain, a Cavis. They got a guy painting, the hey, we're excited to part with a new APP called wisdom, and it's all about learning from experts and mentors and that's why you're here listening to this episode is because we are your mentors. So if you like, learning random stuff from us and have enjoyed what we do, please join US January. Fourth, at two PM central time to join us in our first live session. Where you can interact, ask questions. We also have a really special announcement, we're making exclusively on the wisdom APP so download that APP join US January. Fourth, at two P: central for that special announcement and also maybe learn some stuff. So thanks and the like saying a stop smiling and in the painting they're putting the salvation or a little. Can I oh my gosh, but can you quit moving your arm for a second, so we can get a good stop an he jes like I'm supposed I'm supposed to be ringing. He's like you're, actually not supposed to stand by me this long, it's freaking everybody out scan. You guys leave soon, so he so they that's how ventriloqua started to a. They were smiling for a portrait wakers right and they were just like I'm getting really good at I'm getting really good at talking and not moving my face it. Well, I'm getting really good at talking and not moving my face for these strictures yeah and the guys like. I can tell that to you. We hear what if I had a puppet, Oh yeah, what about dish so so they started bringing Sanna's inside to meet the kids Yeso. The kids could give them give Sanna a letter and say hey. This is what I want. This is what I want for Christmas and then all of a sudden things just went from here's, some guy who gives some gifts some times to Sanna. He lives in North Pole and he has an army. He brings all of your gifts, yeah he's an army of the elves and he travels the planet Yeah One night does at I'm saying for that to not even be like for that to be eighteen, ninety yeah right, then the night, the nineteen hundreds really took. That story interrupted, and I mean it's like when you know what happened, though? What is that little children are annoying and they always ask the question why and so parents were just like I yeah sand, a brings his gifts. Why? I don't know it's when he loves it? That's it brings him life. Why? Because he loves seeing kids happy. Why? I don't? I don't know: Why does he get the gift o? Why there there's a lot of em in the north of pole yeah and they all work for him? Why? I don't know, do that ENA dream Al, have a choice. I don't know doesn't seem like they're born they work in the workshop. They die all right, that's how that works for generations. A grandfather worked in this workshop. I worked in this workshop. My kids work in this workshop. There's no life outside of this workshop is Santa Unethical sure you know. Do we get paid in housing, but it's gone on housing and comte yeah how's it made of gun drops every once in a while gold falls down our chimneys. I do I we get all the floor, gold, it's it's literally chocolate gold. It's wrapper, disappointed or Carter to make more toys. What do you think happens to the way? Here's? What is what happens to the kids that we sacrifice in the first? They were re born in the North Bowl to make toys for kids in the future. Man. That's why I did so an to think we're trying to colonize the moon. We could colonize another or North Pole ad, save those elves. So in one thousand nine hundred and fifteen, where were you born? I was born in one thousand nine hundred and ninety four in the one thousand nine hundred and fifty so in one thousand, nine hundred and fifteen. What happened in one thousand, nine hundred and fifteen white rock beverages, we're trying to sell mineral water. Okay, say said: Hey, let's get Sana to sell our mineral water and they just them in a red and white suit to sell the minimal water and they said hey this work great. Let's have him, sell our Ginger Ale and now worked really good. So pepsy was like hey. We can do that too, as she was like we like you, what you did with mineral water m, so in the in the S and s they ran a an ad campaign for with SANA drinking pepsy, real yeah, Yep Yep, and then because I was a coles which beverage do you associate with saying, yea and then Coca Cola was like wait where the red brand Giros, like you I go like- were the R, the ones with cocaine? Wouldn't that be or thing so they just kind of took them and they started and they joke Santa Clo just took an a CAS and they help marketed everybody else and o yeah. We are, I mean, so you Sana, I mean and the philosophy for it, though, even back to the white rock Beverage Co, they said people don't drink our drinks in the winter. They said they're getting hot COCO and they're getting edes they're getting warm drinks like we need people that s the old, oh, they could at heatthen better than a hot loves hot ICE. I seeking with it creamthine he makes us live in houses of coming drops and we only get hot Pepsi A it's. Your Steve, pepsy frost, Pepsi Boileau, it's cauldron of Pepsi here you go they as no more peps, but if you boil it, it becomes that weird black liquid right very very day were like shoot. People are heating up our product. Let's probably get her of that. You know, don't heat it up, don't worry about yeah! I don't worry about what happens when it's hot okay, so coclea they were like in the winter time. We want people to yeah. The Co Cola was like yeah. We want that too, and they're like what's throw more money at this than everyone else and tell everyone thinks we came up with this yeah and it worked. I guy's great idea. Didn't I see a Pepsi Commercial? I will literally pay you to never say that again they said: what's Your Dollar Mountain? How met in this in Da I'll marry your daughter, we'll marry all three of your daughters, wait, say we yes, company, Colcothar Yeah, what's your daughter's name, Mary she'll be married. Tokay will pay us to do yeah yeah that will be sixty. Send Mary Coca Cola you're going to marry Mary Yeah Mary is getting married to Cocacola. This is Mr and Mrs Mary. Cocoa Gary is also Co. Collis, first name yeah, okay, so anyway, so Mary and Mary got married. A lot of people think that Sana became right because of Coca Cola, but it was actually that white rock beverage. They turned a lot of people like saying I was always wearing different clothes yeah like, but they defined it. I find it red they like. We need to pick something and they picked red and then pepsy stole it and then Cook Colestin and Co cal put more money towards it than anyone else. Isn't that the way it works and this era, the twentieth century, is the era that it really took off, for, I think a couple reasons: one capitalism and consumerism. I'm really do that's. What I'm saying is like you, you can define an image yeah. Well, I think the biggest thing was the whole holiday kind of revolved around this idea of there's a generous person, who's, giving gifts to kids, okay, and so everybody for years was like I'm going to get something nice for my kids at Christmas time right and capitalism and consumerism said by everything yeah. You have to buy this, for you go into lots of debt every year and they just heard your kids with Hot Coca Cola, wake em up with a part of Coca Cola and that's the pagan connection to mithrus yeah. Now we throw into the Caldron of Coca Cola yeah, he coucal the culture so and it just exploded. It was such an opportunity for marketers to just kind of steal this and make all these campaigns yea as for free, and they still do it and still he yeah sat as driving a Lincoln yeah, exactly yeah. So all these all these companies kind of started to dictate the mythology of this character because as they created their ad campaigns, and so he started drinking milkin cookies, he started drinking Coco Cola, all this different stuff, and then you had a film and so now, all of a sudden we started coming out and now all these new interpretations of sand a that had never existed, started coming out like an things like ten millons of Santa Claus. This way later. But so all these different, theatrical filmed thing versions of Sana yeah I started coming out and influencing the culture and, like each film, was kind of picking and chooses thing things for no previous one. So eventually, like you get to the s O s, you have this full on storyline of who San is and what he does and even miss claws and what she does and the flying snakes didn't make it any the marketing meetings yeah everyone's like. I think we need bring the snakes back and they were, like, I don't know, just give them the same names. That was the snake's names you I don't like is that the Santa Claus Series Turned Jack Frost it in the even the not clamation, but the the Te Alon, no animated. What what is t Rudolfi Reindeer and like frost this to me that this Colinton you got it Ros or be those were not clamation. Those reclamation is different. Yeah, those were a hundred percent clams were not claiming anyway, they make Jack Frost like ould like a villain and all this stuff. You know anyway yeah. So all those guys to kind of dictate the story of USANA was sure, and consumerism really played one of the biggest parts. And now it's to the thing where it's like it's kind of its own monster like it did. It did kind of form in really two parts to half part, Pagan, Pagane, sure, half part. It's pretty wild to me how quick things can like in the I s, the Salvation Army picks up this Santa Claus, character, yeah and then now we have full back stories yeah. I know I mean it wasn't really just that one thing like over so yeah yeah, but I'm saying like over so much time and then for it to accelerate the way that it did yeah, and I mean that is honestly that that is kind of as American y. You know I mean that solution right there that yeah, that's the twenty century, yeah like Er everything did that accelerated so fast, and especially with consumerism and marketing and capitalism like things just moved, really quick, because the quicker you could define something as something marketable quicker. You make a lot of money off of it. Yeah things move so fast like technology and coved cases, and all that you know, like things, just accelerate cars. What we're already on cars? Three cars for a series so fast I feel like Jesterday, the first one came out so is on honestly, though cars as a series. They took their time with cars. To now cars three was just garbage, but between cars want and cars to there was a good six year gap there. You know they didn't pump one out the next year, yeah yeah, like Trolls, the movie anyway go ahead, so yeah, so so Sana became this became what he is today. He became a part of the the MAS thanksgiving, the parade to usher in the Christmas season, a guy actually just asked if he could do that, he was like he could. I just so like San a an I be Santa Claus, yeah, that's what they were like who he ahes like. Well, you Le Poky, it's kind of hard to explain: I'm not going to do the whole furnace thing, but, like it'd, be fun yeah. Have you guys ever seen Cop Pepsi before you guys, like? Let's talk about it over some hot Pepsi, so anyways WHO's got hot pepsy, and now it's I mean here's the thing you hear a lot of people talk about Sana and Christmas and honestly a lot of different things, and so oh that's pagan. That's too Pagane for me, no that's to Pagani for us, here's the thing it's also a Christian like, and it's also all these other things there's also Coca Cola. Yeah. It's also cocacola. It's also, it's also the Salvation Army. It's also admiel water yeah. It's all these different things. Nobody owns Santa Claus, yeah all these different things, kind of melted together and got nixt what it is. Now this isn't you? Oh my gosh. If you really look at yourself deep down, there's a Santa Claus inside you in all of us. You know some metaphorically orphaned person who, as a rich inheritance, that you're supposed to give to other people around you so take that joy. You got inside stuffining your neighbors socks, I tryin so hard definite. I was trying an I. my point is a lot of people. I pintin can't celebrate Christmas because I got pagan backgrounds. We can't sell it Halloween because got pagan background. Here's the thing. Let me tell you the way church services are organized today is Pagani literally the Constantine borrowed everything a mad tims, getting right now about everything we pegasius. Okay, he's my he's. My thing parents are like you can't watch Harry Potter. It's pay could be yeah well. So I lord of the ring, is Your Coca Cola Ma? Have you ever heeded the thing yeah? You Know Chris Christian MOMS love to harp on, saying it, but they're jugging diet, coke, here's, the thing my point is really just yeah, it's Pagane, but it's also a Christian. It's also a lot of other things you can't and and at the end of the day, it's you you get to celebrating some people still think he's a goat like you can decide when you want to believe it. Sangeet ng Christmas is not celebrating a Pagan holiday like you're deciding how you're celebrating that what you want to do with that. You can't accidentally be a pagan. You can accidentally worship the devil. Interesting, it's not it's, not an accident, a like! Oh! I don't want to do that because I don't want to you're thinking, Jus, the heart posture and the intention matter. Yes, so it's with the same is true. You can't just do nice things, but if you're doing it to be seen as a nice person, that's not a nice thing, yeah yeah wow, look at you! You Really Youth Pastor! This whole episode, didn't you yeah. I did you really turned it into a guy. What's inside matters and what's inside you is a Santa Claus? Well, anyways, there's a lot of controversy about saying a because it's lying to your kids, their whole life and then there's actually a lot yeah, there's a lot of parents who don't do it because they like well. If they find out, we lied about Santa and the Easter Bunny they're going to think we lied about Jesus yeah, there's also a lot of parents who are like well if well, if I'm going to hi all these presents, I want credit for it. Yeah the other parents who are like listen, let's just get in the car right now we're going to drive down to Georgia and have a fiddle off with Santa and like no it's. I think it's. I think it's it's sating, but you can't prove it's not. Things are done. That night is a production of space. Tim Media produced by Christian Taylor, audio by as Garnett video by Conteret, our graphics and Ar logo by Kalu Golberg's media is on by Kelaba our host, our JERN myres and Tim Stone falls on your favorite social media platform at Tillin. PODCAST is till and podcast remember to tell all your friends about us and we'll see you next Tuesday for another episode of things I have on last night


You know Dasher and Dancer and vicious misuse of a historical figure for profit. But, do you know the story of how St. Nick turned into the Santa Claus we know today? The story is a long one that flows through many changes throughout history. The jolly bearded man didn’t become what he is today until recently. It wasn’t until Capitalism got its greedy hands on old St. Nick that he became the main mascot of Christmas. Here’s the story of the transformation from Saint to Santa.

Saint Nick and Gift Giving

The story of Santa is best began with the story of Saint Nicholas. St Nick was a bishop in the town of Myra in 4th century Greece. But before that, he was an orphan adopted by a local bishop. His upbringing led him to praise charity and service of those less fortunate than others. That passion set the stage for a moment that would lead to an enduring legacy.

Nicholas heard the story of a local father who did not have the budget to marry his three daughters. In that day and culture, fathers had to pay for the marriage of their daughters. If the father could not afford the wedding, the daughter could not be married and would likely be sold into slavery. Saint Nick did not think it was fair, but knowing he couldn’t topple the culture, he did the next best thing.

Late one winter evening, the saint journeyed across town with his inheritance in a bag. He found the family’s home and tossed gold coins into their chimney. That night he threw enough money to marry off one of the man’s daughters. Over the coming months, Nick returned and eventually paid for all three daughters to be married.

Stockings Under the Chimney

On one such night, St Nick was caught. A local witnessed him throwing the gold into the chimney, and the word spread like wildfire. The actions of Saint Nicholas were quickly reformatted into myth. Part of the tale included the daughters hanging their socks out to dry by the chimney and the gold filling their stockings by morn. Children across the city began leaving their socks out at night in hopes of finding them full of gold the next day. Many did because of this type of charity Nick chose to spend his inheritance on.

St Nick becomes Santa Claus

After his death, Nicholas was venerated as a Catholic church saint. A holiday was named in his honor to promote charity and giving. The traditions included hanging stockings by the fireplace and giving money and later toys to children.

Over the next several hundred years, the holiday morphed, changed, and was moved to December 25th to fall in line with the winter solstice. At that point, people added many pagan rituals to the new Christmas holiday. Including the morphing of St. Nick to resemble a conglomeration of figures from various holidays throughout paganism.

santa claus smiling and looking over his glasses
Santa Claus
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Santa Claus Becomes an Influencer

By the end of the 19th century, Santa was solidified into the form we see today. The salvation army even began using people dressed like him outside of retail districts to raise money during the holidays. That event opened the doors for the person of Santa to radically change.

A small tonic water brand saw an opportunity to dress the character in red and use him for marketing their cold beverage during the winter months when cold drinks were out of style. Quickly, a competitor latched onto the idea as well. That competitor? You guessed it, Pepsi. That’s right, Pepsi did it, first folks. Then Coca-Cola took the picture and ran with it for nearly 100 years.

Santa Today

Today just about every brand uses Santa to market their products each holiday season. Stories of Santa have captivated the minds of children worldwide, and the film industry has run with it. Movies depicting the Santa story or referencing Santa are produced every year. It’s been a long road leading to Santa becoming what he is today. First, a Saint, then a splash of paganism, then a heavy dose of capitalism, and you get the jolly old fellow himself.

Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning, and laughing a whole lot while you do, then you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!

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Sources

Santa Claus – Wikipedia

Saint Nicholas – Wikipedia


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