The familiar legend of the Twelve Santas of Christmas has many regional variations1, but the gist of it is the same all over: the god Santa Claus has 12 separate avatars that come on 12 separate days in December to bring presents or, for kids who have been bad, unspeakable torment. This tradition was ruthlessly suppressed by the medieval church because it conflicted with their belief in three and only three gods2, but happily it has been revived here in San Francisco.
1The Finno-Basque tribesmen living in the Banat of Temesvar, for example, worshipped Bassoon Santa instead of Accordion Santa.
2Not counting the hundreds of minor deities who were each worshipped one day out of the year.
7 comments:
I love it! Can't wait to see the other eleven!! Have a great week, Tom!
Sylvia
Excellent!
And some of our (Tom's and my) photos from Saturday's Santacon were picked up by SFist today. Check 'em out here.
awesome!
LOL!
Great shot and story.
according to my dear husband and he's a expert on all things Accordian-ish:
"The accordion celebration is mentioned in the bible as one
of the harbingers of the Apocalypse, and also shown in the
Mayan pictographs as evidence the end of the planet is near...etc."
and from a friend who's gone all ex-pat but lived in SF for eons:
"Yes, but Bassoon Santa was declared heretical at the Council of
Bucharest and his worshippers slaughtered in the Bassoon Crusade. Of course their beachfront property went to the Holy Knights of Our Lady of the Accordion...
Ah, once again I miss San Francisco..."
Ah, yes--the Council of Bucharest. That was indeed a dark day not just for the Bassoonist sect, but for all Dodecaclausists.
Thanks, y'all!
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