Quote: on Faith & the Universe

Death explains to the bewildered wizards of Unseen University why someone is trying to destroy the Hogfather (aka Santa) by trying to deplete people's faith in him.

...
A GOD CANNOT BE KILLED. NEVER COMPLETELY KILLED. HE CAN BE, SHALL WE SAY, SEVERELY REDUCED.

EVERY LIVING THING HAS ENEMIES. THE HOGFATHER, TOO. YES. EVERYTHING. POWERFUL ENEMIES. ... THOSE WHO THINK THE UNIVERSE SHOULD BE A LOT OF ROCKS MOVING IN CURVES. ... THEY THINK OF LIFE AS A STAIN ON THE UNIVERSE. A PESTILENCE. MESSY. GETTING IN THE WAY. ... THEY WANT YOU TO BE... LESS... DAMN, I'VE FORGOTTEN THE WORD. UNTRUTHFUL? THE HOGFATHER IS A SYMBOL OF THIS... WISTFUL LYING. ... I MEAN HUMANITY IN GENERAL. ER... THE ACT OF TELLING THE UNIVERSE IT IS OTHER THAN IT IS.
...

From "Hogfather" by Terry Pratchett


And while we're at it, may I turn the attention to a discussion about the alleged War on Christmas, and the holidays in general.