Can the statement 'Santa Claus exists' be justified?

Question: Can the statement 'Santa Claus exists' be justified!?

I argue that Santa Claus exists as a symbolic social force in the west!. His image is recognised by the entire occident and has become an integral part of the celebration of christmas!. It is this image which plays a functional role in society similar to the Durkheimian role of religion!. The symbolism contained within the myth of father christmas is representational of social truths and therefore I am forced to conclude that to deny the existence of Santa Claus is both aburd and philosophicaly vulgar!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

I would argue no -

No known species of reindeer can fly!. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer, which only Santa has ever seen!.

There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world!. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish & Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total -378 million according to Population Reference Bureau!. At an average (census) rate of 3!.5 children per household, that's 91!.8 million homes!. One presumes that there's at least one good child in each!.

Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with!. This is due to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical)!. This works out to 822!.6 visits/second!. That is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has !.001 second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house!.

Assuming that each of these 91!.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about !.78 miles/household, a total trip of 75!.5 million miles; not counting stops to do what most of us do at lease once every 31 hours, plus eating etc!. So Santa's sleigh must be moving at 650 miles/second, 3,000 times the speed of sound!. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a pokey 27!.4 miles/second!. A conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles/hour!.

If every one of the 91!.8 million homes with good children were to put out a single chocolate chip cookie and an 8 ounce glass of 2% milk, the total calories (needless to say other vitamins and minerals) would be approximately 225 calories (100 for the cookie, give or take, and 125 for the milk, give or take)!. Multiplying the number of calories per house by the number of homes (225 x 91!.8 x 1000000), we get the total number of calories Santa consumes that night, which is 20,655,000,000 calories!. To break it down further, 1 pound is equal to 3500 calories!. Dividing our total number of calories by the number of calories in a pound (20655000000 / 3500) and we get the number of pounds Santa gains, 5901428!.6, which is 2950!.7 tons!.

The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element!. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized Lego set (2 lb!.), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight!. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300lb!. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see #1) can pull 10 TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with 8, or even 9, reindeer!. We need 214,200!. This increases the payload - not counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons!. This is four times the weight of the ocean-liner Queen Elizabeth!.

353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles/second creates enormous air resistance!. This will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as a spacecraft reentering the earth's atmosphere!. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14!.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy!. Per second!. Each!. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them and create deafening sonic booms in their wake!. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within !.00426 of a second!. Meanwhile, Santa, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500!.06 times greater than gravity!. A 250 lb!. Santa, being very conservative in terms of guessing Santa's weight, would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 lb!. of force!. If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's dead now!.
Www@QuestionHome@Com

I don't think that to deny the existance of santa clause is in any way absurd or vulgar!. Philosophy allows you to take any position you want as long as you can defend it to some extent!.

However, we should be careful not to presume that our material world is the limit of existence!. There is not now nor never was a living santa as in the myth, but he does exist in the minds of many children, as indeed he does in my mind in the many fond memories of him I have from my childhood!. So this is one way you could philosophically justify the statement 'santa claus exists'!. He has 'existence' in the thoughts of the young!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

If you go back to where the name Santa Claus came from then yes, it can be justified!.
In the 1500s people in England stopped worshipping St Nicholas and favored more another gift giving figure Father Christmas!. Over the centuries, St!. Nicholas' popularity grew, and many people in Europe made up new stories that showed his concern for children!. The name Santa Claus was derived from the Dutch Sinter Klass pronunciation of St!. Nicholas!. Early Dutch settlers in New York (once called New Amsterdam) brought their traditions of St Nicholas!. As children from other countries tried to pronounce Sinter Klass, this soon became Santa Klass, which was settled as Santa Claus!. The old bishop's cloak with mitre, jewelled gloves and crozier were soon replaced with his red suit and clothing seen in other modern images!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

yes to santy no to absurd and vulgar - Everyone can believe what they want - no laws - no thought police yet!? So Santy gets my vote because at least he was trying to do something for the poor - redistribution of wealth myths do it for me every time!.

yes I think any symbolic force that has the power to make people smile
and remember their humanity has some existence - in the electrical impulses racing round a our brains which leave traces and help hormones be secreted - to carry on the good work!.

I wish it were symbolic of social truths for the other 364 days per year
make a new social myth!Www@QuestionHome@Com

I truly think you are correct!. Santa Claus, deriving from the supposedly real person of Saint Nicholas and his biographical information, or legend if you will, tells us that one person can indeed spread kindness, good cheer and good intentions with good results to an entire community and, indeed, to the whole world!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

Watch Miracle on 34th Street!. There are a few versions, so watch at least 2 and you will get a good argument to present!.

Watch Polar Express!.!.!.!.!.!.the scene at the end where Santa explains something to the child
"This bell is a wonderful symbol of the spirit of Christmas - as am I!. Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart!."

Www@QuestionHome@Com

oh yeh, for once i gotta agree- the idea is such a nice positive one, lets not put it down!. unlike religeon, this beleif does no harm!.

however, the reasoning in 'miracle on 34th street' is complete rubish!. and let's not let beleif in father christmas pre- empt religeous beleifsWww@QuestionHome@Com

no im sorry santa klaus dose not exist and i will prove it to you
number of children x speed of vehicle and secondly the sleigh is not aerodynamic enough to fly and let me put this into your head REINDEER'S CAN NOT FLYWww@QuestionHome@Com

lmao at Smiley's answer!.!.!.!.
but hey millions of adults around the world believe the fairy tales that politicians spout so why not believe in Santa - at least he's funWww@QuestionHome@Com

No, cause every time I got present for is either from my parents or from someone else and it was never from Santa Clause!. :(Www@QuestionHome@Com

mira chavalo,santa no existe,si piensas que santa te va dar un jugete esta navidad sera mejor que no te agas iluciones quien puede darte un juguete son tus padres!. feliz navidad a todos!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I get presents marked as from SANTA!.!.!.That's good enough for me!.

Www@QuestionHome@Com

If Santa Claus did not exist, he would have to be invented!.

- Voltaire SpannerWww@QuestionHome@Com

As a symbol, of course it exists, that doesn't mean there is a man in the north pole making presents!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Here here not much more can be stated and be closer to the truth!.!.!.But this is a question section!.!.so wats sup!?Www@QuestionHome@Com