Santa Claus is coming to town!
He’s Making a list
He’s checking it twice
He’s gonna find out
Who’s naughty or nice
Were you naughty this year? Hope so, though it depends how you define “naughty.”
Myths like Santa Claus subconsciously govern our decisions. They organize society and provide shared stories on which peaceful coexistence and cooperation depend.
In contrast to unifying myths, technology and globalization are currently mashing up cultures, and our mythologies are slow to adapt to these new realities. Thus, the mythologies that everywhere underpin cultural norms are currently spinning in a global, commercial, and electronic blender.
As always, below you will find some practical strategies to help deal with the crazy.
Myths: Stories That Drive Culture
Cultural myths are foundational to the cultural norms and behaviors generally considered ethical or acceptable. They provide the shared stories that teach people the rules. Social contracts are built on myths like a house on foundations. People get motivated by ideas like “hard work and diligence will always pay off in the long run.” And deeply disappointed when those stories turn out to be false because life actually is hard, and “happily ever after” is a Disney fable on endless loop.
Traditionally, mythologies have persisted for generations, if only as dreams. Some religions outlast civilizations.
Over time myths get codified into law and behavioral expectations, which are passed on to children. In that process, across generations, myths persist and evolve.
Case Study: The Santa Claus Myth
As seven-year-old I thought Santa was the jolly guy in the red suit at Macy’s. A mystical, magical being that could be in many places at once and fit through chimneys. Naughty was the Grinch, and “nice” was Cindy-Lou no more than two.
Santa Claus originates from St. Nicholas, a kindly 4th-century bishop from Turkey known for secret gift-giving.
More recently, Santa morphed into a guy at the North pole who (pre internet) could “find out who’s naughty and nice.” A mostly harmless story sometimes used to motivate kids toward “good” behavior, Santa also serves as a kids-level personification of the Christian God. But all that’s been caught up in the global blender, too.
Santa is Watching
In the age of surveillance, the phrase “gonna find out who’s naughty and nice” takes on a vaguely sinister tone: Who, exactly is making this list and determining who is what? Google, X, amazon, and Homeland Security?
And being naughty can be creative and fun! From wearing an outrageous outfit to advocating for political change. Not all the time, but a little harmless wickedness is spice.
And it doesn’t work to be nice all the time, either. Kindness is a good opener, but conflict resolution requires seriousness, skills and understanding before getting to yes. Courtesy goes a long way, but not during a hockey game, as consenting adults agree to beat each other up on the ice, withholding all kindness. There are a times for please and thank you, and times for defending your goal.
Contemporary and Problematic American Myths
Cultural myths have enormous impact on individual behavior, and like the Santa Claus story have perpetuated social norms including kindness and generosity for centuries. Myths provide guideposts and rules, tell us what we should and shouldn’t do, and help to preserve social order.
Contemporary American myths offer common cultural ground, but they also prevent us from adapting to new global realities and shedding some shackles of history. Here is a list (from our website).
What are we losing with the Santa Claus story? Innocence for sure, but kids always outgrow that. It’s more a cultural archetype – a benevolent, jovial, generous persona who just wants to help people out and give things away.
To this day that’s what I aspire to: the kind hopefulness of my childhood Santa. Does social media offer the same comfort?
Practical Strategies
- What myths might replace “naughty and nice” with something more nuanced? What would help people to get along and kids to know what’s expected? What stories do adults need?
- Some contemporary American Myths could morph into a more compassionate and sustainable set of stories by replacing:
- Exceptionalism with Comparative Realism
- Rugged Individualism with Networked Agency
- Meritocracy Myths with Fair-Process Thinking
- Work-and-Wealth Myths with Economic Literacy
- One and done education with Lifelong Skill Adaptation
- Tech Optimism with Tech Governance
- Fear Narratives with Risk Proportionality
- False Unity with Pluralist Cohesion
- Consumer Identity with Capability and Well-Being
- Selfishness with Awareness & Empathy
- Isolation with reaching out
In Sum
Myths are widely repeated narratives, beliefs, or cultural stories that persist despite being oversimplified, symbolic, exaggerated, or unsupported by evidence. They provide foundational stories that bind people together in social contracts. Every culture has myths, and most have become more secular with technology and globalization’s sprawl. The Santa Claus myth, for one, is ailing in a storm of cultural relativism.
Humanity has very real challenges such as forced migration, clean water, intensifying weather, and a host of other threats. Our mythologies and laws are outdated, and now we face choices about whether to apply our collective brainpower to stories that advance humanity’s well-being or squander it in violent conflict. Most species reproduce until they use up all their resources and then decline. That doesn’t need to be our outcome.
I’m sure that Santa would want us to share.
Read More
Contemporary and Problematic American Myths, from the MyEthics website
Santa Claus, from Wikipedia
Globalization and its Impact on Cultural Identity: An Analysis, by Jihane Ziyan for Medium