'Santa Claus, lend a hand with the minimum wage'

Tomorrow is Christmas…

Children almost everywhere in the world are waiting for the gifts that Santa Claus will bring them. 

Even though it is a Christian belief, bringing joy to children is a noble act. In the twentieth century, Christmas celebrations were stripped of their religious motifs and accepted in non-Christian societies as a holiday to celebrate the new year. Santa Claus has become the main figure of this new secular celebration. 

Moreover, Nicholas, known as Santa Claus, was someone who lived in the Demre district of Antalya, meaning he is our fellow countryman! That is why I expect a fellow-countryman favor from him regarding Christmas gifts. 

You know those sensible citizens of ours who attack the Christmas trees decorated by schools and municipalities with axes, or insult the animators walking around in shopping malls in Santa Claus costumes? I would like to ask Santa Claus for a little more wisdom and common sense for them as well. He wouldn't refuse us, would he? For instance, I would say let's remind these friends that decorating trees is actually a Turkish tradition dating back to Central Asia, but they wouldn't accept that either. They have nothing to do with Turkish culture anyway; they are representatives of Arab culture… 

If you say it is a sin to ask for things from our fellow countryman Santa Claus from Demre, I will be saddened and withdraw my requests (!), but it is apparently not a sin to ask for favoritism from influential friends working at the Presidency of Religious Affairs! Learning this did not exactly lift my spirits. 

There is a terrible allegation regarding the exam organized by the Presidency of Religious Affairs for candidates who want to serve as health personnel during the Umrah as part of the 2025 Hajj organization. The exam for candidates who wanted to be health personnel for the Umrah was held on November 9. It was canceled on December 20. The Diyanet announced that the canceled exam, which thousands of candidates took, would be held again. However, it did not announce why the exam was canceled, only stating that it was "due to necessity." 

Let's get to what is being said about the reason for the cancellation… 

According to the allegation, the exam questions were given to some administrators before the exam. While it is claimed that those who received the questions sent them to their relatives, it is said that a candidate who took the exam in Adana shared the questions in WhatsApp groups.

If the allegation is true, is the sin committed by the Diyanet administrators who distributed these questions to their relatives by violating the rights of others less of a sin than the gift I expect from my fellow countryman from Demre?

Anyway, I couldn't stop myself; I have other requests from Santa Claus… The one who asks has one face of shame, the one who refuses has two…

For example, I have a request regarding the 'minimum wage'. Unions are asking for more, but it is being discussed that the government will provide a wage in the 24-25 thousand band. I will ask Santa Claus…

TÜRK-İŞ, which also sits at the bargaining table, had calculated the 'hunger threshold,' which represents the amount of food expenditure a family of 4 must make to be able to eat healthily, in a balanced way, and sufficiently, as 20 thousand 562 liras, and the 'poverty threshold' as 66 thousand 796 liras. 

Taking this calculation by TÜRK-İŞ into account, I will ask Santa Claus to put a reasonable figure in his gift sack. 

I hope I am not committing a sin…