Who is to say Santa Claus doesn’t exist?

Disputing deeply-held beliefs with science or statistics is a futile exercise.

By ET Bureau | Updated: Dec 27, 2018, 11.22 AM IST

US President Donald Trump asking a seven-year-old over the phone on Christmas Eve whether he still believed in Santa Claus as the chances were “marginal”, could be construed as an infringement of the child’s rights under the US’ famous First Amendment that protects freedom of worship and faith. Probing questions by (arguably) the most powerful man on the planet are bound to be daunting, especially on intrinsic beliefs such as Santa Claus — whose sleigh ride on Christmas Eve is tracked by no less than the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

So what if there are hardly any chimneys in homes now for a fat white-bearded man in a red suit to slide down laden with sacks full of presents? As gifts do turn up on Christmas morning, there is no real ground to dispute faith with scientific inconsistencies or statistical probabilities.

Even the scientific community appears to be in consonance with President Trump on Christmas beliefs, given the recent revelations that one of Santa’s mainstays in these smoggy times — Rudolph — not only may not have had a red nose (shiny or otherwise) but that as reindeers are partially colourblind, his mates could not have ridiculed him. It is heartening, however, that US courts have not been asked to step in, and such matters have been left to individual common sense and, well, maturity.

Swarovski, Gold: Here's A Look At The Most Expensive Christmas Trees

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It’s no surprise that the most expensive tree in the world was put on display in the land of excess — the UAE. The Emirates Palace hotel, the luxury Abu Dhabi hotel, in 2010, unveiled what is thought to be the world’s most expensive Christmas tree, valued at more than $11 million. The 13-metre fake evergreen tree, located in the hotel’s lobby, was decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights. However, clearly not satisfi ed with just that, the hotel also hoisted watches, necklaces and solid gold bracelets. In hindsight, for a hotel that provides automatic machines to sell gold bars and the use of a private jet, a $11.4 million Christmas tree is no big deal.