• Blue Notes

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Explained at last! Why Santa says: "Ho ho ho!"

posted by Rick Blue at 16h39

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Why is this guy laughing?

I have read explanations on why we have a tree, why we have lights and why we give presents. Apparently, it is all part of an ancient fertility festival that would take place at the darkest, coldest, most unfertile time of the year. In those ancient times, we humans believed in “sympathetic magic.” That is, we believed that if we wanted to affect a change in nature – in this case to bring back the light and the fertility to the land – that we should imitate the result we desired, thus communicating our needs. So we showed nature a green tree full of light and we gave each other gifts in the hopes that nature would take the hint.

But there is a more important aspect of Christmas that still remains unexplained. Why does Santa always say: “Ho, ho, ho!” 

Here is my explanation. Recent studies have found that depression increases the risk of death and a good laugh is a step toward a prolonged life. Because daily laughter provides many of the same cardiovascular benefits as exercise.

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health found that laughter stimulates blood flow in the heart in a similar manner to exercise. They found that laugher generated a “magnitude of change … in the endothelium … similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension associated with exercise.”

Isn’t that brilliant?

Santa is a corpulent middle-aged guy who smokes a pipe and consumes vast quantities of milk and cookies. Yet, he is healthy. How does he do it?

Laughter!

It is Santa’s way of exercising - without any of the pain.

We often hear the phrase: “Christmas cheer.” It refers to the happiness associated with giving and receiving. Also the way people behave toward each other during the Christmas season – with more patience and tolerance than usual. It also refers to the glasses of adult beverages that are shared.

All these behavioural elements come together with laughter. And not only is it as good for you as exercise, it will actually help you live longer.

By laughing you affect a change in your own nature. And you bring about a change in everyone around you. It is a marvelous form of sympathetic Christmas magic that still survives to this day.

Christmas is a time to rediscover the often neglected importance of fun. Dickens saw that it was all part of a profound transformation. Remember that after emerging from the darkness of seriousness into the light of a brand new Christmas morning what the first thing Scrooge did? He giggled like a schoolboy.

“Humankind was given a sense of humour for a reason. People who have a way to release tension seem to do better,” said Sidney Smith, director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Science.

So that must be why Santa says: “Ho, ho, ho!”