Merry Christmas, or -- if you prefer -- Season’s Greetings or even Happy Nondenominational Holiday.  To be honest, my Christmas spirit just kicked in on Monday.
I know to many this may seem bad as it is December and we are all supposed to be filled with joy and glee. Well, that is what the Hallmark commercial said, anyway. This year has been rough for my family and me. Though by the good graces of God, family and friends, we made it through the year.
The Christmas spirit can be brought on by many things, like hearing those traditional Christmas songs, egg nog and decorating the tree and house. For some, the spirit is brought on by being around family, as reuniting with loved ones always seems to warm the heart and soul. For me it was a Christmas card I got in the mail.
However, last night I saw something which made even me think, “Wow, that was a little much.” Now to those of you who know me, that might make your eyebrow raise, as I am well known for saying and doing things others would not dare.
If you have not seen it on YouTube or on Monday night’s News Channel 10 broadcast, a religious group executed a Santa pinata for heinous crimes against Jesus Christ.
The leader of this group read a proclamation listing the crimes which included “lying to children that you exist and turning Christmas into a festival of gluttony and greed with rampant commercialism.” The list of offenses being read, I suppose, was meant to look like a scroll from ancient times held together by large red and green crayons, which if you are going to execute Santa for the commercialism of Christmas, you may not want to choose two colors synonymous with a commercialized Christmas.
Now I am one who tires from Christmas being commercialized right after Halloween. The decorations and trees and ornaments are all being sold and the Christmas songs are being played overhead. However, I would not in a million years think to execute Santa. Oh sure, I might capture him and maybe interrogate him to find out where my G.I. Joe snow fortress with detachable snow mobile and actual firing missiles is at, though I do not think I’d be the type of person to waterboard Santa.
Before the firing squad took aim and fired, the leader of the group made a statement which bothered me further. He said, “We would ask the Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy on your soul but you have no soul as you exist only as a lie and nothing more. Do you have any last words? Of course not, because you do not exist.”
Santa Claus, or Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick, actually has some factual basis. Now the reindeer, Rudolph, North Pole, elves and workshop are a different story, which we may or may not touch on next year.
The story of Santa Claus was adapted from the stories of the life of St. Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara, which is now on the southern coast of Turkey.
His parents died when he was a young man, leaving him well off. He used his  inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.
He dedicated his life to serving God and was later made the Bishop of Myra, now Demre, Turkey, in the fourth century.
 Bishop Nicholas was known throughout the land for his generosity. One of the stories describing his generosity was that of a poor man with three daughters. In those days, a young woman's father had to offer a dowry. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry.  On three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in the man’s home providing the dowries needed for his daughters to be married.
The bags of gold were said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas.
Santa, I know I have been bad from time to time this year. However, if I ever top the naughty list for the thought of executing you, I’ll understand if Rudolph is sent to snuff me out.

Thomas Garcia is a reporter for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at:
tgarcia@qcsunonline.com