Why it pays to have an unstable mind

[Timotheos]

I'm concerned that the Santa may be an anachronism.  Weren't unicorns extinct by the 1500s???

[Martin Milner]

Unicorns, like smurfs and hobbits, are not entirely extinct, merely very hard to find if you don't know how and where to look, and tread softly.

The Red Santa might be the anacronism, since this jolly image of Santa Claus wasn't fixed until the 19th Century.

[Richard]

Hello, Tim ...

You certainly are an eclectic collector ...
(Playmobil, Smurfs, Lego and lord knows what else.) ...


Hello, Martin ...

You seem to be quite correct about Santa's current costume!

Clement Moore's poem, "The Night Before Christmas" ("A Vist From St. Nicholas"), probably gave us the description of Santa's present-day attire. However, it appears that it was the Dutch who gave us "Sinterklaas."

The history of Sinterklass and his companion, Zwarte Piet, is very interesting. Click HERE and HERE!

The history of Santa Claus and Coca Cola is also quite interesting. Click HERE!

Thanks, Tim and Martin for getting us into the Christmas spirit (it won't be long before it's here) ...

All the best,
Richard

[Timotheos]

Christmas has some weird history.

Check this out:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2006/20061218/haunted-history-a.shtml

The author glosses on many of the superstitions associated with the ancient holiday of yule.  Christmas appears to lie at the crossroads of several different traditions: the Roman Saturnalia, its Christian re-interpretation, and Germanic Yule / mid-winter practices.

PS. I made the mistake of sending that article last year to a work colleague who I mistakenly identified as a sympathetic mind and got the "Christian scowl" for my troubles.  People around here often react strangely to the suggestion that Christmas traditions, even Christmas trees and Santa, are not permanent and may have roots in other religious practices.

Or maybe I'm just a grinch.  I seem take too much pleasure in de-constructing the comforting modern myths that give us our sense of identity....  it's just more interesting than being trapped in that tiny box, otherwise called middle-class respectability.


 

[Richard]

Hello, Tim ...

It is obvious that you enjoy both factual and fantasy history.

As we all know, the "Narwhal" is probably the origin of the Unicorn stories.

But, what if the Unicorn was really the ancestor of the Narwhal?

What if all the Unicorns actually only lived on the continent of Atlantis? And, when it sank during the last Great Global Warming (or whatever), the Unicorns survived by becoming Narwhals like the Humans who became Mermen and Mermaids?

I can just visualize this fantastic new theme from Playmobil. It would, of course, have to be set in Jules Verne's Victorian Period!

Now that would be something to see!

All the best,
Richard

(edit: misspelled "theme")

[Timotheos]

As we all know, the "Narwhal" is probably the origin of the Unicorn stories.

I hadn't heard the Narwhal explanation, but just now found an article about it.

Other ideas I've read are that travelers spotted antelopes or other long-horned gazelle-like animals at a distance and thought they were unicorns.

I guess it's also possible ancient yarn-tellers invented the animal.  We have a fake animal in the USA that is a jack rabbit with deer antlers.  Taxidermists manufacture it as a joke and sell it at hunting stores.

Your Atlantis theme actually sounds right down Playmobil's avenue, like those green aliens they did a few years back.  Playmobil seems to be favoring more and more New Age-ish merchandise, like the folks that live inside their pink "marchenschlosse" and the new pixie theme.

-Tim