Santa Claus is Canaanite! Really.

Last updated on: May 8, 2017 at 6:00 pm by Ben Spackman

Santa Claus is Canaanite! Really. 2017-05-08T18:00:43-05:00 Ben Spackman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve plugged Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) before, a great magazine (with pictures!) aimed at interested laypeople. It used to have a sister-magazine called Bible Review, but then they were folded together so that BAR now deals with texts, history, and archaeology of the Bible in a way non-scholars can profit from. It’s scholarly, includes multiple perspectives, and the letters to the editor are illustrative and amusing. Worth subscribing to.

One of my favorite articles was written by William H.C. Propp, a Jewish Hebrew Bible scholar at UCSD, and author of the Exodus volumes in the Anchor Bible series. I spent an hour in his office once, when I visited for my graduate application. He’s an accomplished bassoonist and has a great sense of humor, which comes out in this article, “Santa and His Asherah.” Tongue-in-cheek (explicit warning: read as satire), Propp writes that

The ancient Near Eastern roots of American Yuletide customs are manifold and fascinating. I will concentrate here on just two major points: that the Christmas tree was originally a symbol of the Canaanite goddess Asherah and that Santa Claus is an avatar of Asherah’s consort, the high god ‘El, who is equivalent to the Israelite Yahweh. I will conclude by showing that the customs of Christmas were brought to America by the Canaanites themselves.

Article pdf.

The more you know about the Bible, ancient Near East, and Bible scholars, the funnier it is. Propp also has a curmudgeonly scholar’s take on Handel’s Messiah.

Merry Christmas, and enjoy.

PS- Read about the real and impressive St. Nicholas here.

Old Testament

Previous Post

November 30, 2016

New/Forthcoming books of Interest

Next Post

December 27, 2016 The Blog in the Coming Year and D&C

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category ancient languages Announcements Book of Mormon books D&C evolution Genesis Gospel Doctrine Gospel Doctrine Resources history LDS Church History New Testament Old Testament prophets science and religion scripture study Seminary teaching temple Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 January 2010 December 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who built the Ark of the Covenant?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joshua Bezalel Moses Aaron