NationStates

East Germanic Countries wrote:New to this forum, but I have to ask you this:

Why does it matter?

It's rude to answer a question with a question.

Hurdergaryp wrote:

Settrah wrote:How far would you go?

Maximum overdrive.

Are we talking young anorexic black lesbian in wheelchair, dressed in yellow and for the summer? And instead of hohoho, they say hehehe?

East Germanic Countries wrote:New to this forum, but I have to ask you this:

Why does it matter?

Because some people get triggered when a character that was previously white is depicted as not white.

Settrah wrote:

Hurdergaryp wrote:Maximum overdrive.

Are we talking young anorexic black lesbian in wheelchair, dressed in yellow and for the summer? And instead of hohoho, they say hehehe?

To be fair, why are people so insistent to portray him as a Roman Catholic priest who is also the patron saint of whores and Russia ?

Is that truly someone on whose lap you want your kids to sit ?

The Grims wrote:

Settrah wrote:
Are we talking young anorexic black lesbian in wheelchair, dressed in yellow and for the summer? And instead of hohoho, they say hehehe?

To be fair, why are people so insistent to portray him as a Roman Catholic priest who is also the patron saint of whores and Russia ?

Is that truly someone on whose lap you want your kids to sit ?

Also brewers, sailors, pawnbrokers and the city of Aberdeen.

I can just imagine a parent saying: "Tommy: if you don't drink your beer, swear like a sailor and be nicer to prostitutes, Saint Nicholas won't visit you this year... although he actually only visits Aberdeen, Russia, Galway, Greece, Bari, the Duchy of Lorraine and Amsterdam. We'd better move..."

So, it's not like we haven't already taken the rather dour Saint Nicholas (image below) and turned him into the jolly elf Santa. And, as Santa is entirely fictional, he can be anything (and it's not like there haven't already been non-Caucasian Santas for many years already).

The Free Joy State wrote:So, it's not like we haven't already taken the rather dour Saint Nicholas (image below) and turned him into the jolly elf Santa.

Technically, the other way around. We took the winter spirit and turned him into Saint Nic.
Well, Americans did. Most of western Europe still considers them two very distinct persons with seperate celebrations.

The Alma Mater wrote:

The Free Joy State wrote:So, it's not like we haven't already taken the rather dour Saint Nicholas (image below) and turned him into the jolly elf Santa.

Technically, the other way around. We took the winter spirit and turned him into Saint Nic.
Well, Americans did. Most of western Europe still considers them two very distinct persons with seperate celebrations.

I think the UK has both (a varying-amount of) awareness of Saint Nicholas as being a saint, while also mostly using "jolly old Saint Nick", "Father Christmas" and "Santa" fairly interchangeably.

I might guess that's partly due to access to an increasing amount of U.S. popular culture over the last few decades, though, so you're not wrong.

In Hong Kong, Santa has yellow skin and speaks fluent Cantonese, although that's partly down to the city having a shortage of white Caucasians. Being white is merely a plus for reasons of historical accuracy and continuity, but at the end of the day, anybody can be Santa. The same goes for Doctor Who, a shape-shifting Gallifreyan who can be any age, race or gender. In the past, we used to call it diversity and multiculturalism. Nowadays, if a white girl wears a traditional Chinese dress, or a black guy dresses up as Santa, it's "cultural appropriation". We all need to just chill.

The New California Republic wrote:

East Germanic Countries wrote:New to this forum, but I have to ask you this:

Why does it matter?

It's rude to answer a question with a question.

Why?
...
_wAiT

Besides, a dude dressed for the northern European winter doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the southern hemisphere.

East Germanic Countries wrote:New to this forum, but I have to ask you this:

Why does it matter?

That’s the way it is on NSG, where even the most trivial issues are hotly debated.

The Free Joy State wrote:

The Alma Mater wrote:
Technically, the other way around. We took the winter spirit and turned him into Saint Nic.
Well, Americans did. Most of western Europe still considers them two very distinct persons with seperate celebrations.

I think the UK has both (a varying-amount of) awareness of Saint Nicholas as being a saint, while also mostly using "jolly old Saint Nick", "Father Christmas" and "Santa" fairly interchangeably.

I might guess that's partly due to access to an increasing amount of U.S. popular culture over the last few decades, though, so you're not wrong.

Oh, it goes further - countries like Germany, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands for instance explicitly celebrate Chistmas and the feast of Saint Nicholas seperately. The latter usually around december 6th.

IIRC, Americans thought it silly to have two bearded bringers of gifts in the same month and mixed the Dutch Sinterklaas and the British father Christmas into one.