Though he was a saint the symbology has been non-religious for some time. It's not just Christians that celebrate with Santa. In fact, most of the non-religious people I know celebrate with Santa. Even when you tie it to a saint the overall meaning of Santa has nothing to do with God or Christians.

People like to be offended and will ruin things for other people. It's sad that we're in such a sensitive society but tolerance isn't what is practiced, sensitivity is.

As a Christian I find the idea of Santa offensive, honestly. Santa and his powers (as presented in media) are a replacement for God. I'm not going to go crying to anybody because they have Santa as an icon.

> the symbology has been non-religious for some time

In the US, sure. In many other countries the related symbology is still heavily linked to "Saint Nicholas", not "Santa Claus".

The name doesn't make it religious though, it's the people that celebrate Christmas and their use of Saint Nicholas/Santa Claus/etc.

The red hat has nothing to do with Christianity though. It was created in the late 1800s and then popularised by Coca Cola in the 1930s. If the VS Code team had put a bishop's mitre on the update cog the complaint would be more reasonable.

The red hat is clearly associated with Christmas which is a Christian holiday. The complaint is silly, but we should not counter that by ridiculous claims like saying a Santa hat has nothing to do with Christmas. I think the red had originates from "Father Christmas" rather than Sct Nicolaus, but in any case it is clearly associated with Christmas.

And so what if it is (even if slightly)? What's offensive about that? Who is hurt by that? (I'm an atheist, so I’m hardly a defender of shoving religious values down people’s throats)

Honestly I think he is trolling, but if you are interested you can read the original complaint.

Saint Nicholas is hardly the same as "Santa", which has his own wikipedia page [1]. Modern day Santa has some partial roots in Saint Nicholas (as well as a few other figures), but other than the sometimes-used moniker of "Saint Nick", has very little to do with the actual saint. Santa is the one associated with the red hat, while Saint Nicholas has no such association. The only real link between the two is that Saint Nicholas was known for gift-giving and so is Santa, but I hope we aren't about to label gift-giving as a religious activity...

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

I'm not sure it makes sense to ask if Santa Claus is "the same" as Saint Nicholas. It is a mythic figure which have developed over time. It is like asking if Dracula is "the same" as Vlad Tepes.

Are you sure Santa and Saint Nicholas are the same? In Germany we celebrate Saint Nicholas on December 6th, while Santa brings presents on December 24th (Christmas Eve).

The modern mythos of Santa is based on Saint Nicholas:

https://www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus

Yes it is the same. Santa Claus comes from Sinterklaas which is Dutch for Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas, the bishop who lived in ancient Greece, is a saint, venerated in every form of Christianity that has saints.

I don't think that Santa Claus, the mythological person who lives at the North Pole and has elves to make toys, is venerated by any Christian denomination.

Protestants in Germany introduced the tradition of "Kristkind" (Baby Jesus) bringing gifts at Christmas because the tradition of Saint Nicholas was problematic for protestants.

Was that the tradition of St Nicholas, the saint, or "Saint Nicholas"/Kris Kringle/Father Christmas = Santa Claus, the cookie-eating guy with a red hat thatdeveloped mostly after the 18th century?

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking - are you considering St Nicolas and "Saint Nicholas" two unrelated figures? Obviously the figure developed over time.

Santa drives around in a grossly polluting truck delivering obesity-water to children. He's a monster, not a saint.

And it's powered by high-sulphur diesel made from fermented reindeers and children's tears. ;)

Don't forget getting children drunk on rum eggnog made from molested cows and unfertilized dinosaur descendant's ovums.