<P> Our jolly old Saint Nicholas reflects our culture to a T, for he is fanciful, exuberant, bountiful, over-weight, and highly commercial . He also mirrors some of our highest ideals: childhood purity and innocence, selfless giving, unfaltering love, justice, and mercy . (What child has ever received a coal for Christmas?) The problem is that, in the process, he has become burdened with some of society's greatest challenges: materialism, corporate greed, and domination by the media . Here, Santa carries more in his baggage than toys alone! </P> <P> In the Czech Republic, a group of advertising professionals started a website against Santa Claus, a relatively recent phenomenon in that country . "Czech Christmases are intimate and magical . All that Santa stuff seems to me like cheap show business," said David König of the Creative Copywriters Club, pointing out that it is primarily an American and British tradition . "I'm not against Santa himself . I'm against Santa in my country only ." In the Czech tradition, presents are delivered by Ježíšek, which translates as Baby Jesus . </P> <P> In the United Kingdom, Father Christmas was historically depicted wearing a green cloak . As Father Christmas has been increasingly merged into the image of Santa Claus, that has been changed to the more commonly known red suit . One school in the seaside town of Brighton banned the use of a red suit erroneously believing it was only indicative of the Coca - Cola advertising campaign . School spokesman Sarah James said: "The red - suited Santa was created as a marketing tool by Coca - Cola, it is a symbol of commercialism ." However, Santa had been portrayed in a red suit in the 19th century by Thomas Nast among others . </P> <P> Various psychologists and researchers have wrestled with the ways that parents collude to convince young children of the existence of Santa Claus, and have wondered whether children's abilities to critically weigh real - world evidence may be undermined by their belief in this or other imaginary figures . For example, University of Texas psychology professor Jacqueline Woolley helped conduct a study that found, to the contrary, that children seemed competent in their use of logic, evidence, and comparative reasoning even though they might conclude that Santa Claus or other fanciful creatures were real: </P>

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