In Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny We Trust
What is the reality of God vs. the reality of Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny? It really is child’s play!
GOD.
When it comes to deities, God (and Son) are pretty much the new kids on the block, which is really weird when you think about it if God is the only true god and has been around since, well, “In the beginning.” . Polytheism has a much longer history and timeline than monotheism and even the first (and short-lived) attempt at quasi-monotheism in Ancient Egypt had the Sun playing the role of Mister Big (the Aten). Religious scholars can trace the evolution of belief in deities from place to place and culture to culture and time to time. I like to think that God was created in the image of Zeus*, who in turn was created in the image of even earlier deities who were worshiped by those earlier societies and so on down the centuries, so far back in fact that one you can trace unnamed fertility goddesses back to prehistoric times through artifacts that clearly had the same kind of meaning as today’s Christ-on-the-board.
SANTA CLAUS
What else can be said about Santa (or Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas or Kris Kringle) that hasn’t been said a hundred times before? Come Christmas time, in fact, even months before Christmas, Santa and the image of Santa is everywhere. You’d have to be a hermit living in a cave somewhere in the afterlife, in Whoop-Whoop or some similar place to escape the Santa hype, or the hype about Santa.
This original and essentially European folklore character dates back to the 4th century AD. C. and can give God a run for the money on the stakes in longevity.
We all know what the modern day Santa does and what products he is associated with and how Santa helps stores bring in an extra one, two or twenty bucks. But at least Santa is a straightforward guy, who isn’t afraid to mingle with kids (and he should be awarded a Victoria Cross, Medal of Honor, or similar medals for his bravery beyond the call of duty).
On the other hand, children cannot sit on God’s lap while they are in the mall or department store. There are no images of God on Christmas cards (or any other Christmas products), so God is pretty shy. Children do not receive gifts under the tree of God. God does not stand on street corners ringing bells and collecting money for charity.
THE EASTER BUNNY
The Easter Bunny (or Rabbit or Hare) bringing Easter eggs to good boys and girls is an old German tradition dating back to the end of the 17th century. So the Easter Bunny is certainly not some modern invention by chocolate makers to increase the rate of obesity.
The Easter Bunny is a bit more elusive than Santa, although there have been occasional sightings during the Easter period of giant bipedal rabbits. Authority figures assure skeptical children that the Easter Bunny is indeed real. Proof of that fact lies in all those Easter bunny statues carved in and out of various types and brands of chocolate. Some Christians might call that idolatry; most call it tasteful, even delicious. Then there are all those Easter bunny stuffed animals and stuffed animals (more idolatry) and EB images appear on all sorts of Easter-related merchandise and goodies. So there is plenty of evidence that the Easter Bunny (or Rabbits) exists.
On the other side of the Easter coin, God doesn’t provide delicious Easter treats; no god stuffed toys for girls (and boys) to hug and snuggle up in bed at night. God does not sanction his image to be used anytime, anywhere, much less in the marketplace. IMHO I think God is ashamed of how he looks. God probably looks very old; very wrinkled; very gray and probably very bare.
TOOTH FAIRY
The tooth fairy has its roots in folklore dating back to ancient Europe and Northern Europe (the Nordic countries), spreading at least primarily to English-speaking nations, so like Santa and the Easter bunny is not a new concept.
The Tooth Fairy is also a bit more elusive than Santa, but we do have her (?) existence on record as proven by authority figures (i.e. mom and dad) and the kids see the pudding proof the next morning as anywhere. the exchange rate is between tooth enamel and kingdom coins.
God doesn’t give a damn about your child’s loose tooth and he certainly isn’t going to give the child a red penny or even a nickel for it.
In short, God apparently can’t be bothered to show his face and interact with humanity, especially little children, although in hindsight he may be showing good sense. Who would really want to interact and associate with all those hordes of loud, screaming, tantrum-prone, drooling, smelly, foul-mouthed brats!
CONCLUSION
There is no evidence for the existence of God, however there is a great deal of evidence for the reality of the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and especially Santa Claus. But we know that the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and especially Santa Claus are fictional or mythological and have no basis in reality. So, from all this, what can be concluded about the existence of God? How likely is it that there really is a bona fide supernatural deity who doesn’t bother showing up at the mall and letting the little kids I peed in my pants sit on his lap? How likely is it that there really is a bona fide supernatural deity who doesn’t bother showing up at Easter and giving those brats I shit my pants a colored hard-boiled egg or two? How likely is it that there really is a bona fide supernatural deity who doesn’t seem to give a damn about all those baby teeth from those little forest babies that have puked up my pants; The one who can’t do without a little Holy Change?
* However, it is much more likely that the God of the Old Testament was transformed from the various gods of Mesopotamia and was in transition from one to another through that first monotheistic religion, Zoroastrianism.