Editorial: Santa Claus lives, in all of us

As you fling open the door today in desperation of a little cool air - and discover there is none to be had - you may think (not for the first time), "This is one weird Christmas."

Never mind that the birds are singing and that allergies supposed to be dead and buried by now are clogging up our sinuses and our holiday spirit.

Possibly even weirder than the weather is the Norwegian newspaper that ran Santa Claus's obituary earlier this month. According to the death notice in the Aftenposten, Father Christmas died Dec. 3 at the ripe old age of 226, in the northernmost Norwegian city of Nordkapp.

(Should you happen to be in Nordkapp on Dec. 28, you can attend the funeral at the North Pole Chapel.)

The Aftenposten pulled the obituary from its online classified section and apologized to the world, saying their internal processes had failed them. Yet, their apology stopped short of assuring us that Father Christmas was still, indeed, alive.

Perhaps that is because they didn't feel they had the authority. Maybe the editors at the Aftenposten think this is something we should all decide for ourselves.

We're sure there are a lot of people, who decry the commercialism of the season, who think Santa's time has passed.

We politely disagree. Mr. Claus, the ultimate mythical gift-giver, defies the physical limits of our natural world to finish his rounds in one magical night. And when we rush around, taking more pleasure in giving the perfect gift than in getting one; or taking the time to do for others this season, that's the spirit he embodies.

Santa Claus lives. He lives in us.