Selling Santa

Poor old Santa Claus is nothing but a tool for merchants.  This appears to have been true all the way back to his earliest days in the mid-19th Century.  Originally, or so I think, Santa was a simple giver of gifts, a bringer of joy to young children, a dashing, kind and generous actor in an annual Solstice drama, that has been pushed and pulled until the shortest day of the year is not even recognized.  But this is not the fault of Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas if you want the full and official name.  But, rest assured, like St. Patrick and St. George, the church does not recognize his beneficence.  He is gloriously unofficial, and thus a free agent.  This is the hope for Santa.  No longer satisfied with merely being a salesperson once a year, Santa wants a bigger job without the capitalist restrictions.  Tired of promoting greed and consumerism, Nick might want to change his image, be visible throughout the year, providing constant good cheer, and a jolly presence for the culture.  But this change will mean that Santa will say NO SOAP to holiday commercials.  Hip Hip Hooray!