Kris Kringle Was One Radical Dude

Among the incredibly commercial messages and neatly-tied-up endings that just scream "deus ex machina" our generation can learn a great deal from the stop motion Christmas classic Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. For those of you can't recall, it's the movie that tells the story of Santa Claus from start to finish. It explains how he chose to enter homes via chimneys and how one man can be named Kris Kringle, Santa Claus, and Saint Nick at the same time. The birth of the Christmas stocking is explained, and Winter Warlock is introduced as the in-charge director of seasonal cold and snow. However, as I watched this film with my eight-year-old sister I couldn't help but think that we were viewing, for all intents and purposes, different films. For her the movie was about the history of Christmas, but I saw something different. It's possible that my being a global studies major had influenced this perceived difference but I saw a case study in Yuletide civil disobedience. Unfortunately for the children of Little Sombertown, toys had been outlawed by the evil Burgermeister Meisterburger. This unjust decree was enacted on the basis that toys do not foster civil productivity, but instead lead to laziness, dependence, and in the worst case scenario, a healthy imagination. Kris Kringle, however, will not stand for such intolerable rules. He is told over and over that his practices of delivering toys on "the holiest day of the year," Christ's birthday, are morally, socially, and lawfully wrong, yet he refuses to cease and desist as his orders prescribe. When he no longer can work in the daylight because of the law, he continues under the cover of night. When he can no longer walk freely through the front doors of houses, he resorts to chimneys. He starts stuffing socks with small toys to hide them from the Burgermeister's guards when they begin searching houses. In my eyes Kris Kringle was one of the original champions of civil disobedience. Not only does this beg the question of when did we forget what the Christmas season is all about, but also what is the Christmas season all about really? Sure, we give and receive gifts, but as rational young adults we can all agree that there is something more behind our merry traditions. The ideas of hope and harmony, peace and friendship spread everywhere during Christmas time. We look to those who need help, regardless of circumstance and give of ourselves to them, much like Kris Kringle himself. However, these sentiments slowly fade as we are returned to the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, but what if this Christmas there was more? What if we demanded that this Christmas would be the Christmas of change? The entire Christmas tradition was started by a man with a mission and some guts, so why don't we try to make that a part of our Christmas spirit? Take up your candy canes and stockings in support of what you believe in. Put aside your worry and apathy, because if there is any time of the year to get a movement off the ground it's the Christmas season. At some point we all need to be a bit like Kris Kringle and campaign for what we think is right, and on this campus there is no doubt that behind the seemingly similar facades there is a wealth of difference in opinion and belief and a whole bunch of determination just waiting to roar. Kris did it, and look what's become of his idea? Let's change the perception of apathy so many Providence College outsiders assume. We have values and ideas that our important to us; we are not apathetic. Let's use our good spirits and goodwill towards one another as fuel to lift our heads and change what we want changed at PC, our towns, and our world. Use Kris Kringle as inspiration for a personal goal to not give up in the face of hardship (or a stout curmudgeon of a man with a silly name). As it has been sung many times over: "Gone away is the bluebird, here to stay is a new bird." Let that "new bird" be your voice.