Re: Santa Claus without his pipe (Nov. 24).

Look, I'm not here to debate whether or not Santa Claus really exists, but I think any and all children reading this should stop, immediately.

Santa Claus is described as a large elderly man with a fondness for the colour red and for donating toys to children (though he seems to favour the rich ones) that were made by his slaves, these identifiers don't change; they're the bare bones of what can be considered "Santa" but cultural icons can change with society.

I think a bigger problem than whether or not Santa stays the same is that some people exploit the idea of Christmas to sell products. I think parents are encouraging this by telling children to write a list to this magic man who'll bring them anything they want for free.

Watching the videos of people trampling one another to get the last Furby makes me sick. When did this happen? When did getting your spoiled child $400 worth of material goods become more valuable than your own dignity?

 

DYLAN MANNESS

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 30, 2012 A13