It was wonderful to hear our Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, making a statement from the Dail (Irish Parliament) yesterday about Santa being designated as an essential worker this year and being allowed to travel freely.
The Minister has a helluva lot on his mind these days with Brexit negotiations at a crucial stage and all the uncertainty that brings on top of Covid-related issues, not to mention all the other stuff he has responsibility for.
But, we all needed absolute clarity about Santa. No dithery dithers because Santa is super special in terms of lending stability and continuity in a very uncertain world.
I’m just so thankful that all that is sorted out nice and early. I don’t believe in getting into Christmas mode until Christmas week but Santa is an exception. Santa always was and always will be an exception.
SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland 
I agree that Santa is an essential worker and for our sanity through the holiday (he is a vital need to have in our lives)…Who but Santa and his elves can keep the children on their very best behavior from now until the big day…Not forgetting the real reason for the season which should always be in the forefront too…We need both in our lives…
I never thought of him keeping kids on their best behavior. Maybe I was always incredibly well behaved. I jest!
Santa is definitely essential. We are decorating early this year, hoping to enjoy the spirit of the holiday a little linger. We have our tree up, but it does not have any decorations as of yet.
WOW, you’re way ahead.
I must confess to having a tiny tree in my study that never comes down but gets a new decoration every year.
Had to abandon Christmas trees proper when the dogs started arriving in 2000. They couldn’t resist having a chew.
Our tree is up, lit and partially decorated. Hopefully I will finish tomorrow.
I hope you got to finish off tree to your satisfaction.
Should any government have any control over Santa? In my world, Santa does not take orders from Government. He travels basically the same route all over the world that he has traveled for centuries, and if I know him well enough, he won’t care if government “allows” him to travel. He will do what he has always done-load his sleigh with toys and other goodies for all the world’s children, making them happy in a world gone mad. I hope you have a wondrous Christmas this year.
I’d love to hear your views on Brexit. How do you reckon that’ll pan out for all concerned?
Good question. I wish I knew. We here in the US mostly supported Brexit, because we did not want Britain to be governed from Brussels. We prefer Liberty and self-government, not government by un-elected bureaucrats. We think Johnson and Trump should sign a free-trade agreement as soon as possible; that would be great for both countries. We want Brexit to succeed, and all the people to become more prosperous. And I thank you for your post-it inspired me to write about it on Ricochet.com (and I might just post on my own blog too). If the Ricochet post lands on the Main, public-facing feed on Ricochet, I will send you the link.
Yes, I thought you’d take that view. Obviously, it is very complex for Ireland especially given all the sensitivities about the North/South divide. One would wonder how the majorities in both Northern Ireland and Scotland who voted against Brexit will feel if there is No Deal? It looks like it could spell the end of the United bit of the Kingdom. I just hope it does not lead to a return to the Northern Troubles which were so terrible for 30 years of my life, especially as I lived very close to the border for some of the worst years.
I’d just love it if you would do a whole post on the “state of Ireland today”. It seems to me that the English/Protestants of the North need to get off their high horse, reconcile with the South, and become one country again. I have read of all the English depredations of Ireland in the past, and that is a shame that England needs to make right. Ireland is too beautiful to be divided, and I think that there exists a lot of waste of human capital that could improve both North and South if they could rise above their old conflicts.
Thanks for your faith in me but it would take many volumes to write about the state of Ireland today.
It’s certainly far more complex than English/Protestants getting off their high horses ….. I guess I come from a minority background here in the Republic as my mother was a member of the Church of Ireland (Protestant) and my father of the Roman Catholic Church. Love conquered all in their case and each brought very different versions of history from their upbringings. The main thing they shared was a longing for peace on the island and thankfully both lived to see the Good Friday Agreement being hugely supported on both sides of the border in referenda.