General Chat

lol Amanda !

Sory Eldrick............must be the full moon.........lol

Eldrick,,,,You'll be off my Christmas Card list if you say that Father Christmas doesn't exist.....

Father Christmas is a Victorian invention that was used to promote commercialism by encouraging the exchanging of presents. It is nonsense to suggest that a fat man in a red suit flies around on a sledge. Pulled by flying reindeers. Climbing down chimneys with bikes, computers and barbie dolls. ALl in the space of a few hours - to every child on the planet as well! (hard lines on those kids that dont have chimneys)

But, to be fair and objective, I can't actually PROVE that he doesn't exist - so he goes right there on the list next to magnets, homeopaths, loch ness monsters and sasquatch :-)

Now your being silly Eldrick....Of course Santa exists, and nothing you can say or do will make me think otherwise.

Eldrick!!!!!!!!!!!

The Toothfairy told me he was real.................so there! *stamps foot and slams thread door*

I know, even I admit that sometimes I stretch the credibility thing a bit too far.....

Actually, science shows that Santa doesn't live at the North Pole, as was previously thought. He has been located to Atlantis, situated under the Pacific rim and emerges through the north pole via a worm hole. Or is it a portable black hole (mini version).I disremember.

Eldrick....shame on you.I'm not talking about that the guy with the red suit lol I'm talking about Father Christmas.

From Wikipedia:

The symbolic personification of Christmas as a merry old figure begins in the early 17th century, in the context of resistance to Puritan criticism of observation of the Christmas feast. He is "old" because of the antiquity of the feast itself, which its defenders saw as a good old Christian custom that should be kept. Allegory was popular at the time, and so "old Christmas" was given a voice to protest his exclusion, along with the form of a rambunctious, jolly old man.
The earliest recorded personification of Christmas appears to be Ben Jonson's creation in Christmas his Masque[1] dating from December 1616, in which Christmas appears "attir'd in round Hose, long Stockings, a close Doublet, a high crownd Hat with a Broach, a long thin beard, a Truncheon, little Ruffes, white shoes, his Scarffes, and Garters tyed crosse", and announces "Why Gentlemen, doe you know what you doe? ha! would you ha'kept me out? Christmas, old Christmas?" Later, in a masque by Thomas Nabbes, The Springs Glorie produced in 1638, "Christmas" appears as "an old reverend gentleman in furred gown and cap".
The character continued to appear over the next 250 years, appearing as Sir Christmas, Lord Christmas, or Father Christmas, the latter becoming the most common. A book dating from the time of the Commonwealth, The Vindication of CHRISTMAS or, His Twelve Yeares' Observations upon the Times[2] involved "Old Christmas" advocating a merry, alcoholic Christmas and casting aspersions on the charitable motives of the ruling Puritans.
The traditional Father Christmas was neither a gift bringer, nor associated with children. However, during the Victorian era, when Santa Claus arrived from America, he was merged with the character called "Sir Christmas", "Lord Christmas" or "Old Father Christmas" to create Father Christmas, the British Santa which survives today. Nowadays, most Britons use the expressions Father Christmas and Santa Claus as synonyms.

Oh, it's him you're talking about. Sorry.

Silly me!

Its interesting to note that in the Netherlands and other European countries, they have the yuletide goat that brings gifts.....and I cant prove that he doesnt exist either.

What a mad mad world!

I suppose the gifts prove that he exists :-)

In fact there are more photographs, drawings, references, books, songs etc about Father Christmas than me.....maybe I don't exist :-)

Next it will be Dracula is real…either..

I'm not saying anything......

***checks for silver cross around neck***

***looks suspiciously at Eldrick**

Eldrick

I am astounded at your absolutism on scientific research - it is so not without bias and it is so not in the interest of the major pharmaceutical companies who fund so much research to find in favour of any type of alternative medicine! Academic research is in many cases flawed! Ok .. so there..

And if you are disputing the existence of father xmas then I think you should be made to walk the coals, whilst covered in homeopathic creams doing a hoola hoop with magnetic type materials!!!

Kaz

I haven't read every response since my last one just the one you responded to me with Eldrick!!

50 years ago Scientists didn't believe they could prevent cervical cancer..... today there is a preventative treatment!!

That's my example of time over-riding today's doubters of tomorrow's answers!!!!!

xx

And 200 years ago doctors thought bleeding someone was an effective cure for all sorts of things.

So.....your point in the context of magnetic therapy is what....?

That it works because of a principle unknown to present day science.....

Or that it's claims about re-alignment of molecules etc are true - despite being disproved ad nauesum by real tests....

Or that the placebo effect is not real (despite it being proved and allowed for in all double blind tests).....and the 'unknown to science' is the real answer, despite the answer being so readily available...and properly tested.?

Your point about cancer is interesting as you - and almost everyone - presumably accept and trust the scientific findings in relation to that.

What, therefore, is the reason for not trusting the scientific findings in relation to the non-effect of magnetism and homeopathy?

And not believing the results of the scientific tests that show any effects are due to the placebo effect?

It seems that many people absolutely trust science - and in particular medical science - completely, with their lives every day in many cases - yet still manage to suspend common sense when believing in things like this. We donate huge sums to cancer research yet dont believe science when it tells us that homeopathy cannot possibly work AS IT IS CLAIMED to, but works because of the placebo effect.

It's all extremely interesting to me.