Santa Claus Comes to tha 'hood:
The Ghetto Economics of X-Mass
Min. Paul Scott
Back in the day, every Christmas, my pops used to
blast James Brown's song "Santa Claus Come Straight to
the Ghetto" from the speakers of our 8 track stereo.
The kids in the neighborhood would groove to that song,
all having fond thoughts of the jolly ol' white dude
coming to the 'hood December 24th and slidin' down the
chimn...(um, I guess garbage chute) of every black boy
and girl who had been nice instead of naughty all
year. It was not until much later that I discovered
that "Chris Kringle" was the reason that many of us
were trapped in a mental "ghetto" in the first place.
Now, I hope that somebody jacks Santa for his combat
boots and busts Rudolph in his shiny red nose.
I don't have anything against the "Apirit of
Christmas." I mean who can be mad at folks sitting
down spreading holiday cheer and stuff. And we always
get a kick out of Uncle Rudy stumblin' down the stairs
after gettin' a little tipsy off of the egg nog that
he spiked.
But what really gets my goat...(reindeer) is the
politics and false history of X-Mass when it comes to
Africans in America.
Despite what Sister Ruth taught you in Sunday school
class, Christmas, as a religious celebration, really
ain't got nuthin' to do with black people. Although
the Biblical stories took place in Northeast Africa
(misnamed the "Middle East" ) the actual "holiday" is
a European concept originating from the Roman
(Saturnalia) and European (Winter Solstice) festivals.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe and other
areas, in order to attract new converts, it would mix
with existing cultures and incorporate that culture
into Christianity.
Also, contrary to what Rev. Jones is going to tell you
in his annual "Sweet Little Jesus Child born in a
manger" service, even the terms "Christian" and
"Jesus" are derived from Greek terms as a result of
Greek Hellenism followed by Euro -cultural and
military imperialism. The black people of that region
spoke Aramaic and Hebrew not old English that sounds
like it came straight out of a Shakespearean play. The
color of the people of the Bible was changed from
Black to white courtesy of European artists such as
Michelangelo and others in the 16th century who used
his family members to pose as the people of the Bible.
Santa Claus is a result of a mixture of tales of the
Catholic St. Nicholas and German and other European
fairy tales that manifested themselves in the United
States in the early 1800's and became transformed into
Santa Claus, the patron saint of American capitalism
and commercialism.
So the obvious question is, if X-Mass has nothing to
do with Black folks, why do parents across the country
allow Lil Tyrone and Lil Shaniqua to run through the
mall to be the first one to sit on Santa's knee, every
year? Although the person's whose birth you celebrate
every December 25th (who would have actually been born
in September or October) came from a lineage of rebels
and idol smashers, why are we still scared to oppose
the lies associated with X-Mass in 2007 ? Why do
Black folks feel that we have to decorate more, spend
more and party more than everybody else in America?
Well, the status quo (business owners etc) know how to
make X-Mass and other Euro-celebrations and holidays
that don't have anything to do with Black folks so
darn irresistible that even the most Afrocentric of us
can get caught up in the moment if we are not careful.
Now be honest, how many times have you been walking
through the mall and found yourself hummin'
"Dreaming of a White Christmas" along with the mall
intercom system? And personally, I believe that the 48
Hour "It's a Wonderful Life" marathon on TV is part of
some diabolical brainwashing plot.
This can be traced back to the plantation where the
"slaves" were given a day off and a new pair of work
boots every X-Mas. So today the modern day slaves are
still given the day off and go out and spend $150 on a
new pair Nikes. How many of us would still be in the
"Christmas Spirit" if it wasn't for the paid day off,
Nintendo Wii and the slammin' X-Mass Eve party at Club
Freak-a-lot ?
Also, being robbed of our history and culture it is
fairly easy for us to be seduced into assimilating
into someone else's idea of spiritual and cultural and
expression.
While some may point to Kwanzaa as an alternative to
X-Mass. Kwanzaa in and of itself does not challenge
the false images of X-Mass nor correct the historical
misinformation surrounding the white washing of a
religious expression practiced globally by millions of
Black people which is historically African at its
core.
Also, now that Kwanzaa has become more commercial,
many who put on Kwanzaa events are trading in
Afrocentricity for a universal culturalism. In order
to get corporate sponsorship, Kwanzaa in many cities
is no longer a black thing but something that can be
shared by the "entire community." So pretty soon even
Kwanzaa may go the way of jazz, rock and roll and Hip
Hop. So don't be surprised if your next Kwanzaa event
is sponsored by Jack Daniels and features a group of
white fiddle and djembe players from Alabama.
Despite what grandma did, it is time for us to
reevaluate the social and historical reasons that we
engage in certain behaviors. As Kurtis Blow once
rapped "this ain't 1823, it ain't even 1970." Black
folks are no longer forbidden to read as we were
during slavery and with all the technology available
at our fingertips, there is no excuse for us to be
ignorant.
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