Is Santa a Bad Role Model?: Controvery Surrounds his Weight, "Ho, Ho, Ho"
First of all, Santa as we know him today has been round and jolly since the first drawings in 1863 depicting him this way. Santa has been overweight for 144 years yet obesity in children has been rising for only the past 20 years. How can you honestly blame Santa Claus for the recent rise in obesity? The rise in obesity in children has more to do with poor eating and exercise habits than it does with a character that they see once a year. If they want to blame someone for the rising rate of obesity then attack the fast food restaurants that aggressively promote to children and the parents who take their children to these places several times a week. Do not attack the one man whose only job is to bring joy and happiness to young children around the world.
As for the "ho" complaint in Australia, this is not Santa's fault so therefore he shouldn't have to change, we should. Santa has been saying "Ho, ho, ho" for as long has he's been overweight and it has meant nothing more than a jolly laugh. It is our society that has changed the meaning of the word and Santa shouldn't have to suffer because of it. Perhaps we should really be looking at ourselves as a society and eliminate derogatory words from our vocabulary instead.
We have become a society of people who are always pointing the finger at someone else for our problems instead of looking within. Parents are responsible for how much and what their children eat and how much exercise they get. No role model can make your child fat or lazy. The same goes for our language. We control what language is acceptable and if we choose not to use a word incorrectly then it will stop being used. Instead we would rather take an innocent word away from a legendary character rather than stop using that word incorrectly. This type of blame and change does not make a better world for our children, it teaches them not to take responsibility for their own actions.
We really need to leave these characters of folklore and legend alone and stop blaming them for our own faults. We as a society are responsible for our behavior, not a jolly, chubby man who gives of himself once a year.
Published by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Deanna Lynn Sletten has been writing articles for print media and the internet for almost 20 years. The topic of health has been her main focus in writing as well as the topics of parenting, family, children... View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentGreat article! I saw a story today on GMA about the Surgeon General having a problem with Santa's weight and wanting him to slim down. What next? Good job.
DominoVeeDj - As far as I can tell only AC can change the title once it is published. I guess they felt it needed a longer title than my original one. Oh well, at least the article is out there. :)
Good article, I agree. This tradition which I'm not really in favour of, does not need to changed, only us. And plus I really think the repercussions of changing that would be displeaseful since people would certainly misinterpret it all. So? The typo in the title is only editable by AC, huh?
Thanks for all the comments - Actually, Beau, I do get what you're saying. Knowing a stranger is entering your house while you are sleeping should creep kids out but I guess his image is what helps make it okay. That's why they shouldn't change his image - kids seem to relate to him just the way he is.
I agree with you fully about how society is to blame for child obesity and bad language. Look at what they have young kids saying in movies now. For the most part I cant believe the parents of them are ok with it. Just like you said, the word "Ho" was not used in a bad way until the 70's to now. Im not putting down skinny people, but why does Santa have to be so thin? I agree to a healthier life, but it seems like society is saying "your not good enough unless your thin" Santa is not obese! For one,he can get in and out of his slay without the use of a crane and two, this helps kids to see that just because someone is a little "thick" it doesn't mean they are bad people. I support keeping Santa just the way he is!
Interesting article, since I was a kid I was a little suspicious of old st nick. I felt he was a stalker of sorts... "He knows when you are sleeping?, He knows, when you're awake.." Sounds strange to me. As a kid I was always a little uncomfortable about some old fat man breaking into our house and eating our food. If we really wanted him there, why didn't he just ring the doorbell... Just my thoughts as a kid. Thanks for the article... ;)
Jack, thanks for your comments. Glad you liked it.
Good article! You're right, it's silly. I've never heard of any kids wanting to BE Santa Claus. They want toys from him. He's not a role model. As for Ho, Ho, Ho, come on, already! I've never even heard the word used, except by rappers and Don Imus. This is akin to that Congressman who used the word "niggardly," which means stingy. There was an uproar, when all one had to do was pick up a dictionary.
My original title did not include the "Controversy Surrounds his Weight Ho Ho Ho". That was added by AC and spelled incorrectly by AC. Please don't think I would misspell a word in the title - it is too obvious!