The Christmas/Holiday Pageant exemplifies society's reluctance to completely do away with Christmas symbols. In this case, Santa was given a voice but his traditional salutation was censored. He's a jolly fellow but we don't know what makes him so. Christmas trees and Santa have the official stamp of approval as being secular Christmas emblems, and Santa has a history of being repackaged as a character with origins unrelated to Saint Nicholas.

In 1902, L Frank Baum, author of "The Wizard of Oz" wrote about this in his "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus", describing him as a gift bearer for Christmas but not of religious origin. There have also been animated TV specials reinventing Santa as growing up with no religious leanings but still doing his job on Christmas eve. The idea that Santa can be a character totally divorced from Christmas is a very different matter. For many unconcerned with or unknowing of holidayization, the sight of Santa in non-Christmas settings can seem like an affirmation of Christmas. Santa seems to have Christmas written all over him, so his appearance automatically seems to make any setting a Christmas setting. But in fact this area is becoming more and more doubtful. Santa appears everywhere in December but hardly ever with the name or any clear designation of his holiday.

Santa's connection to Christmas is more tenuous with the passing of each year. In 2003, a DVD came out for sale titled "Twas the Night", paying tribute to the "Winter Holiday Season" elucidating three observances. With the name of the most famous Christmas Eve Story "Twas the Night before Christmas" being abridged and associated with various other observances, how long will it be until the story is re-conceived, rewritten and sold as "The Night before Holiday". There really is a plan to make Santa a gift bearer for "Holiday", not Christmas. Are we going to give up our Christmas symbol just like that? We have a say too.