Santa Is a Psychedelic Mushroom

This guy may have been the start of it all. The dreams of amanita muscaria bringing the story of Santa and flying reindeers to life.

“…the indigenous people of Lapland, known as the Sami, allegedly performed healing rituals led by shamans who used the hallucinogenic mushroom, the Amanita muscaria.” Shaman would come in a reindeer-drawn sled and drop from the chimney offering gifts, however, not physical but healing and problem solving. And in return the people would give them food.The shaman “Would eat the mushroom, go into a trance … Although they would be sitting there beating the drum in the tent, they would be saying, ‘and I’m going down to the underworld and I’m getting advice from so-and-so.’”The reindeer really love this mushroom for some reason. Apparently amanita muscaria if consumed gives a feeling of flying and maybe that is what reindeers felt. This is where the idea of flying reindeers may have been born.This story brings a whole new perspective on Christmas. Maybe it should be about taking time to look back at our psychological and spiritual growth.

All the info and quotes above from New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/opinion/santa-christmas-mushrooms.html