What War On Christmas?

Sweetness & Light ^ | December 13, 2005 | N/A

[Sam Hill]

Yep, it's beginning to look a lot like (there's a war on) Christmas (after all).

From those purveyors of innocent merriment at WNBC:

Antonio Martinez stops to snap a photo of a knife-wielding Santa Claus holding a bloody head on display outside the home of Mildred Castellanos and Joel Krupnik, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2005, in New York. Krupnik says the display is intended to call attention to the commercialization of Christmas.

Upper East Side Home Bedecked With Bloody Santa

December 13, 2005

NEW YORK -- It was quite a sight in front of a multimillion-dollar Manhattan townhouse: a bloody-bearded Santa, holding a knife and the severed head of a doll -- blood gushing from its eye socket.

The eerie display popped up outside Joel Krupnik and Mildred Castellano's East 18th Street home. The couple and their three children said they are protesting the commercialization of Christmas.

Krupnik and Castellano's 16-year-old daughter, Darla, came up with the idea for the bloody Santa. The family is Jewish and non-practicing, but they say they like putting up decorations for their kids.

The girl said she based her bloody Santa display on the movie "Silent Night, Deadly Night," the New York Post reported in Tuesday's editions.

Krupnik said the figure of Santa is not in the Bible, but, rather, a piece of Americana.

In addition to the Santa with the knife, the family's outdoor display includes a tree whose bare branches are adorned with beheaded Barbie dolls.

Of course if this display was meant to represent a certain kind of practitioner of the Religion Of Peace™, it would have been pulled down and the family thrown into a (non-country club) gulag.

I suppose Mr. Krupnik knew he'd be safe ground mocking a piece of "Americana."

[Sam Hill]

For some reason I keep thinking of the phrase, "Blood Libel."

[Sam Hill]

Nothing says Christmas to me like Santa cutting off people's heads.

And what a daring way to protest its commercialization?

But wouldn't it have been more appropriate for say, Ramadan?

[atomicpossum]

Some things sure bring out the buttheads.

[silentknight]

It won't last. Somebody will help bring this down in the next day or two. It has been on the news now...so the end is in sight.

[antceecee]

We put up our Christmas tree last weekend and normally I watch Christmas movies and re-runs of old Christmas programs while decorating my tree. This year I noticed that there were very few offerings of Christmas fare. Instead it seemed that most of the programming (especially cable movie channels) had on the most violent movies especially horror movies and shows. I thought perhaps I had the calendar wrong and it was Halloween! I think media is purposefully slanting their programming to eliminate (positive) Christmas programming. The only Christmas movies seemed to be the made for TV variety whose purpose was to show dysfunctional families trying to celebrate the holiday.

[MamaB]

I noticed the same thing. I could not understand why there were so many horror shows on tv at this time of the year. I just got back from eating lunch with hubby at a Chinese restaurant. When we were in the line to pay the bill, the cashier was wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

President Ford is in the hospital.

[Logophile]

The beheaded dolls came from Castellanos, who has a collection.

A collection of beheaded dolls? If the police have any unsolved serial killings to investigate, they may want to keep an eye on this family.

[siunevada]

Krupnik said the figure of Santa is not in the Bible

Well, dang! I'm glad he pointed that out. He must have been a philosophy major in college.

I'd'a sure been embarassed if I'd'a got to heaven and asked where Santy lived. I'm glad that smart feller pointed that out to me.

[icwhatudo]

Funny how the TV MSM presents this story as as a "family upset that the true meaning of Christmas is being replaced" but upon further review its simply some non-Christian horror nuts being stupid.

[Logophile]

Funny how the TV MSM presents this story as as a "family upset that the true meaning of Christmas is being replaced" but upon further review its simply some non-Christian horror nuts being stupid.

I would guess that the members of this family are too cowardly to own up to their real motivation.

[goodnesswins]

Hey....I was looking for good Christmas movies this weekend, also...and could hardly find any.

[goodnesswins]

UHM.....this "family" could TRY and understand the REAL meaning of Christmas.....about GIVING!!!!!????? from their $3 MILLION dollar home.......what hypocrites!

[angcat]

I noticed that Miracle on 34th Street was not on this Thanksgiving, unless I missed it. So far the only Christmas movies I have seen this season is Desk Set and Scrooge and that was two weeks ago. I am waiting for It's a Wonderful Life and Christmas Vacation. When I was little there was a movie called “The House Without a Christmas Tree”. God forbid that would ever appear again

[Lou L]

Ok, so we're talking about a non-practicing Jewish family who are complaining about the commercialization of Christmas--a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Does the fact that they're non-practicing Jews mean that they really do believe that Jesus's birth is worthy of recogition; i.e., non-commercialization?

[T.L.Sink]

I think Krupknik's protest against the commercialization of Christmas is a harmless (albeit tasteless) example of an age-old tendancy within Christianity itself. No people opposed the frivolity and paganization (Santas, reindeer, etc.) of Christmas more than the Puritan settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. The pope recently and very correctly deplored the wholesale commercialization of this event. It's ironic that many of the people who seem most upset by the use of things like "holiday" as a substitute for Christmas are often those who seldom if ever darken the door of a church. In any case holiday means "holy day". You said you thought when searching for a good Christmas movie that it was "Halloween". Be of good cheer! Remember that Halloween comes from "All Hallows even", i.e. the night before All Souls Day - an important Christian holy day (or should I say holiday?) It just goes to show that we can never escape our Judaeo-Christian roots. Incidentally, I fully agree with you about the paucity of good Christmas movies. My favorites have always been those old British renditions of Dickens' immortal Christmas Tale featuring Scrooge, the ghost of Jacob Marley, Tiny Tim, etc. To me this is not only good first-rate entertainment but a genuine expression of the true spirit of Christmas. To all FReepers a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

[Mo1]

It was quite a sight in front of a multimillion-dollar Manhattan townhouse: a bloody-bearded Santa, holding a knife and the severed head of a doll -- blood gushing from its eye socket.

And they are protesting capitalism ??

[Sam Hill]

That's their story, anyway.

[texasbluebell]

You know, I had noticed myself that there seemed to be far fewer Christmas movies lately. Your posts made me do some searching to see if it was my imagination.

For the week leading up to Christmas, on AMC, we are to be treated to 2, exactly 2 movies, running on Dec 21 and 22, Holiday Inn and A Christmas Carol.

But not on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Well that's fine, most people are not going to watch tv those days anyway. However, all day Christmas Eve and Christmas Day there will be war movies, the entire day and evening.

On TCM, they're doing just a little better but not much. They're condescending to show us one time each the following: A Christmas Story on the 22nd, A Christmas Carol on the 23rd, and Christmas in Connecticut on the 24th.

Also on NBC this Sunday will be National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (which I once loved, but now Chevy Chase has ruined it for me, unfortunately).

And on Christmas Eve, NBC is running It's A Wonderful Life.

I didn't notice on http://www.tvguide.com much else in the evening hours for the whole week before Christmas. Nothing of note, really nothing that seemed the least bit memorable. There is Christmas Eve at St. Peter's though which still makes the grade, apparently.

Not one showing that I can find of my favorites like The Bishop's Wife (though that's running in Jan and Feb, maybe it was on earlier this month once or twice, don't know) or A Child's Christmas in Wales!

Glad I taped all the good oldies ages ago. Sad though for people with young children these days.

And no, I was surprised myself that Miracle on 34th Street didn't seem to be around on Thanksgiving weekend, at least it wasn't obvious to me that it was.

[wardaddy]

The family is Jewish and non-practicing

right.