Santa: Ho-ho-holy

Ho, ho, ho!   (Public Domain)

As Thomas Moore explains in his book The Soul of Christmas, it’s not just monks who have mantras.  Santa has one too.

His is “ho, ho, ho,” which is a lot jollier than “no, no, no.”  In fact, Santa is the cheery on top of Christmas Sunday.

So what’s the big joke?  In a sense, life.  Santa is that “holy fool” who sees the world going rounder than his belly.  Within the routine cycles we all get caught in, there’s a need to lighten up. 

Saint Nick helps provide that comic relief.  More than that, he helps “people get away from the heavy, rational burden of a ponderous life.”

So you might find Santa sitting on the corner of Humor and Holy, contemplating his cavernous navel.  But not for long.  Soon he’ll merge back into the great beyond, at least until next year.

Resources

http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/excerpts/view/28152/the-soul-of-christmas

Copyright December 16, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved