Ananova reports that British Reverend Lee Rayfield stirred up a bit of controversy when he told his congregation that Santa Claus was dead, and that it was impossible for him to deliver all those presents in a single night any way.

It reminds me of the story about my uncle telling my sister right before Christmas that he'd just shot Santa Claus. My sister was only 4 or 5 at the time, so of course she immediately started bawling and crying.

Seeing that his joke had seriously upset my sister, he immediately made the concession, "Well, I just winged him. I'm sure he'll be ok."