Secret San**a | Imamother

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Secret San**a

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amother

Lilac

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 5:59 pm

iyar wrote:

I don't want to argue with how you hold, but I'm not sure OP has to do this.
Don't laugh at me but I was trying to figure out what San**a could possibly be.
IMNSHO 2 asterisks to replace the T in Santa is a bit much.
In this day and age be'medinosainu it's mostly a commercial holiday.
I would find a creche in my place of work offensive and would avert my eyes, but I don't think you have to worry about the zaideh with the white beard and the red hat. I wouldn't ask anyone to turn him into a maccabee to make me happy. On the contrary, I prefer to keep my menorah and my beliefs inside my cozy house and let them enjoy the holiday in this innocuous way. In the olden days back in Eastern Europe X-mas was a good time to rile up the masses and start a pogrom. If all they're asking me to do is wrap and exchange a gift- I'd do it.

(If you wonder why I say X-mas even though I'm okay with Santa- there's a prohibition against mentioning a foreign deity. Whether it's forbidden both verbally and in writing is a question. Whether he's considered a deity or not is also not so clear. There are questions about X-tians being ovdei avoda zara or not. I haven't studied enough theology or (le'havdil) enough Halacha to be sure. AFAIK nobody connects any divinity with Santa and his reindeer in the galus we currently find ourselves in so he's in a different category. It did make me laugh to find him on a bottle of Coke at a kiddush I attended next to the cholent and the kugel.)

Just btw, the "X" in "Xtians" usually symbolizes the cross. If you want to avoid Yoshke's name, there are several other ways to refer to it, such as Cratsmach (what my father calls it) and the חגה (which my Rav calls it).

singleagain

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 6:13 pm

amother [ Lilac ] wrote:

The X is from the Greek letter Chi which ia for the word Khristos. Which translates into Christ. You're not not saying anything. Your just saying it in another language.

singleagain

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 6:14 pm

Also I've done secret Santa. It's cute and fun. The guy who got me actually sneakily asked me for an idea for his niece or cousin or something. Which ended up being my present. And I got my person a tumbler with her initial. It's just a nice thing.

amother

Apricot

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 6:20 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

So my workplace has a "secret s***a" holiday gift exchange. If I don't participate it looks bad, but I'm not comfortable taking part in a xtian holiday ritual (even though I don't think it has religious significance). Anyome else have experience with this?

Fix the title...you misspelled and made it not understandable

amother

Blue

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 6:25 pm

yes I do work on sundays - what does that have to do with anything in this topic?

thanks for the info on "x' did not know that

zaq

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 9:28 pm

OP are you Lubavitcher? Lubavs won’t use the word “saint” even in a place name. It’s S. Louis, IL on address labels and “Simcha Monica, CA” in articles.

There is logic to this. Referring to someone as Saint or Sainte or San or Santo or Santa or Sancta—all of which mean “holy”—implies agreement with his or her status as a...well, saint, designated as semi-divine by the ruling body of a religion not our own, that may or may not be outright idolatrous but IS unquestionably heretical.

The cute chubster known as Santa comes from St. Nicholas, or Sinter Klaas in Dutch, a Christian monk whose hallmark was giving, especially to children. He became the patron saint of New Amsterdam, now known as New York. The familiar red and white getup is an American invention that originated in a 1920s magazine ad for Coke in which the mythical gift-giver was togged out in red and white to match the Coca-Cola logo. Variations of the ad ran for decades, always with a cheery fat guy in fur-trimmed red PJs enjoying a bottle of Coke.

amother

Pumpkin

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 9:35 pm

anyone else read the post title as Secret Satan?

amother

Amber

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 9:38 pm

amother [ Blue ] wrote:

yes I do work on sundays - what does that have to do with anything in this topic?

Those of us who work our paid salaries M-F are indirectly participating in the Xtian Sabbath.

That is the relevance - its remotely Xtian to be off of work in Sunday.

amother

Floralwhite

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 9:52 pm

What do you do if you CVS get a man co-worker. You can't control who you get in these situations. That is completely inappropriate. You have both a non-Jewish holiday and tnius issues. Can't Believe It

marina

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 11:00 pm

amother [ Pumpkin ] wrote:

anyone else read the post title as Secret Satan?

I feel like this would def be a much more fun work party.

marina

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 11:02 pm

amother [ Floralwhite ] wrote:

I personally get walgreens not cvs but to each her own. Very Happy

Also if you just say enough tehillim hashem will make sure u only get cisgender straight females gift recipients.

amother

Floralwhite

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 11:49 pm

marina wrote:

I personally get walgreens not cvs but to each her own. Very Happy

Also if you just say enough tehillim hashem will make sure u only get cisgender straight females gift recipients.

That is a good idea. Tehillim is definitely the answer. Thank you. You saved me.

amother

Coral

Wed, Dec 04 2019, 11:59 pm

Santa
Santa
Santa

Ahhhhhhhhh

(Am I the only one that wanted to do that?)

amother

Emerald

Thu, Dec 05 2019, 12:11 am

zaq wrote:

I didn't know there was was one in IL - the one I'm familiar with is in MO. Tongue Out

(And not the Imamother "MO")

I was taught that there's an inyan to "make fun" of their holidays and other "proper" nouns, by purposely mispronouncing, such as "Chratzmach," "HolloQueen", Yoshke, etc. I guess so we don't give credence to them (kind of like what Zaq says above).

Regarding gift exchanges - it gets tricky, and asking LOR may be helpful. On a related note, I was told I could wish "Happy Holidays" but not name the holiday itself.

DrMom

Thu, Dec 05 2019, 12:12 am

zaq wrote:

I wonder what the Satmar Chassidim do. "Satmar" comes from the Hungarian for "St. Mary"

amother

Emerald

Thu, Dec 05 2019, 12:24 am

DrMom wrote:

I wonder what the Satmar Chassidim do. "Satmar" comes from the Hungarian for "St. Mary"

I recently mentioned this to someone, who was SHOCKED. He asked me where St. Mary is, but I had no clue. I gather from your post it's in Hungary.

amother

Jade

Thu, Dec 05 2019, 12:32 am

amother [ Emerald ] wrote:

I didn't know there was was one in IL - the one I'm familiar with is in MO. Tongue Out

The idea of mocking applies to avoda zara. There's a major dispute as to whether Christianity falls into that category, or whether it's a misguided monotheism like Islam. (There are many practical ramifications here, and Ashkenazi poskim generally hold that it's not avoda zara.)
.
And yes, stop with the X. It's no frummer than the commonly accepted terms.