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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2003)
Question of Santa evokes holiday memories several university students recount how they learned the chubby bearded man in red may not be authentic By Aron Glatzer Freelance Reporter Sleigh bells will soon be ringing and milk and cookies will be of fered. Santa Claus will be making his rounds, bringing spirit and presents to children across the globe. But not everyone thinks 'ol Saint Nick truly exists. Many college stu dents passed the point of believing in the chubby bearded man years ago. "Dec. 17, 1987, that's a day that will forever lay tainted in infamy," senior Adrian Blackmar recalls. "My Christmas experience almost ended before it could even begin." Encouraged by an older cousin, Blackmar rented a film entitled, "Silent Night, Deadly Night." Instead of seeing a jolly man de livering presents, 6-year-old Black mar watched the story of "an es caped mental patient dressing as Santa Claus involved in a murdering spree from house to house. ” Blackmar then listened to his cousin explain how Santa Claus does not exist at all. "Not only is Santa not real, but the escaped mental patient may come to attack me," Blackmar re calls thinking. As a kindergarten student, Black mar said he was given the assign ment of reporting his holiday expe rience by means of a show and tell presentation. "The few days left before Christ mas 1 spent several hours working on a diagram to recreate the horrific details of my new Christmas be liefs," Blackmar said. "Never afraid to speak my mind, 1 gathered the strength and courage to tell others what I was told." But on the night of Christmas Eve an event occurred that made Black mar reconsider his presentation. Af ter his cousin told him that his par ents were the one's who left gifts labeled "from Santa," he snuck out to the tree to see if any loot had been left. There was nothing there yet, so he went up to his parents' room. "When we checked on my sleeping parents, we heard a rustle," he said. Turn to SANTA, page 7C Santa Claus soothes Kyrsten Potterf to sleep at the Valley River Center on Thursday. Tim Kupsick Freelance Photographer Americans hop to shop during holiday gift season Black Friday Wal-Mart sales totaled $1.52 billion alone, and average holiday buying is up $21 from 2002 By Ayisha Yahya News Editor The holiday season is under way with glistening light displays, Christmas trees decked with decorations and even a few Christmas carols on the airwaves. Holiday shopping is also under full swing because Yuletide is truly the sea son for giving and receiving in this age While the holiday has religious roots, it is becoming more defined as a time of revelry and gift-giving. "I do think in our culture sadly it's becoming more commercialized be cause there's more money to be made," University sophomore Zachary White said. And the Christmas holiday is a mon ey-making machine. The National Re tail Federation Web site, http://www. nrf.com, projects that this year's holiday sales are likely to bring in close to $217.4 billion in revenue The average consumer will spend about $670, up from $649 in 2002, according to a federation's survey. The NRF is the world's largest retail trade association. Hie overwhelming holiday shop ping craze was evident on the day after Thanksgiving — popularly known as Black Friday — as millions of shoppers flocked to stores as early as 6 a.m. to scoop up the latest deals. Retail giant Wal-Mart alone made $ 1.52 billion on Black Friday, according to a Dec. 1, 2003 article in The New York limes. Other people did their shopping on line Citing Bizratecom, a site that tracks e-commerce sites, a Dec. 3 The New YorkTimes article stated that businesses reported $820 million in Internet sales over the four-day Thanksgiving week end, up from $735 million in 2002. "We've seen the holiday shopping season pushed back," said campus Pastor Jeremy Hadju-Paulen of the Turn to CONSUME, page 8C 017856 BUY • Name brand clothes Cleaning for the holidays? Donate your old car, appliances 8e household items: call 345-0595 for free St. Vincent dePaul Society 6 locations in Eugene to serve you • 1880 W. 11th, 683-8284 (great selection of appliances and new furniture) • 705 S. Seneca, 345-8036 (lots of clothes and misc. household items). • 2345 West Broadway, 284-5024 (huge warehouse of used furniture). • 555 High St., 344-2115 (our closest location to campus, across from 5th St. Market). • 201 Division Ave., 762-7837 (clothes, computers, books, furniture, beds, appliances). • 450 Highway 99, 607-4541 (our huge car lot). • • BOOKSELLERS, GROCERS & WINE MERCHANTS KIVA • Organic Produce, Natural and International Foods • Flomeopathic and Herbal Remedies • Dried Fruits, Nuts and Bulk Foods and Domestic Beer 150 Sliced or Cut nd Body Care MOIM-SAT 9-8 • SUN 10-5 125 West 11th Avenue • DOWNTOWN EUGENE • 342-8666
