Sunday, 06 December 2009

  • Santa Claus: the Man, the Myth, and the Legend

    This is the second in my series of posts on Christmas. I hope you enjoyed my first one, where we talked Christmas Trees. If you haven't guessed, I am going to be covering Santa Claus today. Before I do though, I need to define a couple words here that I will be using. They are both rather simple, as they are the same word. I am just going to assign them two meanings to make it easier to follow. If that made a lick of sense, then you will be able to understand this post.

    Christmas = the true Biblical Christmas that Christians should follow and celebrate.

    christmas = the secular celebration of Christmas.

    Please notice that the only difference between the two words is in which case the letter c is.

    You know, I looked all over my Bible, for the Bible verse that mentions Santa Claus, but I never found it. All those verses and not a single one mentions Santa Claus. Does that mean he must be a good idea? Should Santa Claus be a part of Christmas? If he is not mentioned by name, we will have to examine the legend and myth of Santa Claus to see if any of that is allowed or forbidden by the Bible.

    We could play some fun word games, and move around the letters in "Santa" and make Satan. Wouldn't that be evidence? We could continue to play silly word games and make God into doG and people could say we worship a four-footed animal. If Santa is evil because the letters can be rearranged into Satan, then because we can make God into doG, we can say we worship four footed animals that bark. But since when did we allow logic to get in the way of our theology?

    Let's not play silly word games, and just talk turkey about the jolly man in the red suit.

    Santa is not real. He does not exist, and no I am not bitter because he never left a single gift at my house for the last 28 years, but who's counting right? Since, he is not real, then by telling kids that he is real, we are kind of lying and committing fraud aren't we? You know lying -- that thing that got you spanked or your mouth washed with soap when you are a kid, but is suddenly "harmless fantasy" when you are an adult, and so you want to force your kid to behave by making someone up. 

    Just today I was at the Post Office, and I was standing in line getting ready to mail out the amazon.com orders from my amazon store, when I noticed a boy that was picking on his sister; I would say the boy was probably seven, and the girl was probably five. Instead of telling the boy to stop, or be nice, or behave, the words that came from the parental unit were, "If you continue picking on your sister, Santa won't bring you any toys"

    Seriously, parents, have we stooped so low that we need to use fraud and deceit to make children behave? Which is easier to say: "That behavior is unacceptable and it will stop right now," or "Santa won't bring you any toys"? Who is the parent here, Santa or the adults that live with the kid? If you have to commit fraud and deceit to make your kids behave, you have a big problem.

    I am not saying that all parents force kids to behave by holding Santa above the child's head like the parent at the Post Office. I am sure that for some parents, Santa Claus really is a cute little fantasy for the family. However, a lie is still a lie --  you can rationalize it all you want, but you are still lying to your kid. Why should a lie have any part in a celebration of Christmas? Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, and I am sure that we all remember Jesus. Jesus is the person that died for all of our lies.

    Rather than lying to our children, perhaps we should be telling them another story. Let's instead tell the story of the birth of Jesus, and how Jesus' life and death inspired a guy by the name of Nicholas, who used to give gifts to children and give gifts without tooting a horn and wanting credit. He would give gifts without leaving his name. Why don't we tell that story? When our kids get old enough to pay attention, such as like age two or three, we should tell them the nativity story, and the story of Nicholas, stories that do not involve lying and fraud. As they grow older, we can add activities like standing out front of stores and ringing bells for the Salvation Army or serving in a soup kitchen -- activities that will help our children reach out and help others.

    The story of Santa Claus does not really add anything to Christmas. Santa Claus is as useless as the christmas tree from the last blog post. It doesn't add anything to a truly Biblical Christmas. Santa Claus doesn't help our children draw closer to God. For some kids, it may actually hurt. The well-known Christmas song about Santa has lines like, "He knows when you are sleeping; he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake." These words describe God. Only God is capable of these things. When some kids, who think a certain way, find out that Santa Clause is not real, then maybe they will think that God isn't real either. Not all kids will make a connection like that, but like I said, the story of Santa Claus, does not help anything. So lets toss Santa Claus into the pile of more hurt then help.

    Santa Claus is a lie and a fraud, and these activities are not what Christians should involve themselves in. So let's cut Santa Claus out of Christmas and leave him in christmas. If the secular world wants to lie and believe in a lie, and promote a lie, then let them. But we should strive to live a holy and pure life.

    What have you taught -- or plan on teaching -- your children about Santa?  Is it wrong for Christians to raise their children believing in Santa?

Related Posts

Comments (16)

  • SirNickDon@xanga

    If I someday have children to raise, they will understand that Santa is a game that it's okay to play along with, and not okay to ruin for others, but that it is only a game.  Like political elections.
  • pnigophobicpk@xanga

    My sister (I only use her because I don't have kids myself) doesn't tell her kids Santa is real, and this is what I probably will do.  They read Santa books and make Santa crafts in school, but they understand that he's a fairytale, like Cinderella.  All of the kids know the real reason they celebrate Christmas, and that giving gifts to each other is just one way of spreading the joy of God's gift to us.
  • canicus@xanga

    I'm an adult, and I believe in Santa Clause. He lived in Myra in the third and fourth centuries. He was persecuted under Diocletian and defended the faith at Nicea. He was a man who was generous to orphans and widows (this generosity is what gave rise to the practice of stockings). Yes, I do tell children there is a real Santa Clause, and his name is St. Nicholas of Myra. Consequently many of the Santa Clause customs can be connected to a real, godly man who serves as a good example for them to emulate. I don't need to lie, and I can even tell them he will pray for them.

    History has shown that opposing something like this usually fails miserably. Rather than oppose Santa Clause, why not fight myths by telling the truth and emphasizing the origins behind the customs? The real man, after all, is a prime example of what a Christian should be. We celebrated and spoke about him today in the services. He was a good and godly man.
  • ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga

    @canicus@xanga -  Being a member of a Southern Baptist church, I am more inclined to talk about Christkindel than I am about St Nicholas.


    I have a friend who is of dutch origin, and his family, even though it has been generations upon generations since his forefathers left holland, they are proud of the dutch background. Every year for Christmas, they pool money together and buy toys for the angel tree program, or donate turkeys to a food bank or something like that. Each time they do it, they leave the gift under the Americanized name Kris Kringel, the original german name being what I mentioned above Christkindel. Both word meaning the same thing "Christ child"


    Nicholas of Myra was I am sure, a kind person who did a lot of Good, but Christmas has more to do with Kris Kringel  then it does Nicholas of Myra.


    I think I came off more of a hater in my original blog post then I meant to. I have no problem with any of the above comments of telling children of the fairy tale known as Santa Clause. I only have a problem with telling kids he is real, and using him to make them behave. If you want to tell kids of the fairy tale and tell them he is made up, that is fine with me. I only have a problem with lying and fraud, not fantasy.
  • canicus@xanga

    @ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - I understand, and the lying isn't necessary. I really won't do it. I don't for my nieces and nephews, and I will not when I have my own. I tell about St. Nicholas of Myra. Even Kris Kringle derives from the story of St. Nicholas. He is celebrated on Dec. 6, but Calvinists and other Protestants forbade the celebration of saints while they were in power. So, they moved the customs revolving around him to Christmas and renamed him variously. Even this custom, ultimately, is about the good bishop.
  • ashleyannaka@xanga

    I will tell my children about Santa, but I won't tell them he is real. I'll probably research to find out more about the origins of Santa (I know a little, but not much) and tell them that. We can make believe and what-not, but he won't be a real entity. We do this in my house now that my sister and I are grown, but not grown enough to have our own celebrations. My parents still like to put "Santa" on the gifts and what-not. We know they're really from them, but they say Santa and my mom usually shouts on Christmas morning "Santa came! Santa came!". I imagine will probably do something similar. I probably won't have kids for several more years though considering I'm 20 and not dating anyone and have no plans of getting married/having children anytime soon.
  • CoG_Love

    I was surprised to find it featured on Revelife. A post that said it. There's no Santa Claus. This entry was even sharp and pointed.

    I just hope that no one's kid has to learn it here.
  • ingiardino@xanga

    @pnigophobicpk@xanga - I agree with what your sister does. 

    I don't think my parents ever had to sit me down and tell me that Santa wasn't real, nor did anyone else.  I just somehow knew one day.  But I still enjoy "pretending" to believe.  I like to think of Santa as an image of Jesus Christ.
  • NaitoOfNarnia@xanga

    On a personal note, I was almost upset! I am working on a blog series for Christmas that will go into detail about the origins of Santa Claus and the REAL St Nick (the man). But this post wasn't quite about that, so I was happy for that.


    About your post, though, you  make such a SERIOUSLY TRUE point that needs to be taken seriously. I'm surprised no one has written saying something about Jesus beinga myth, too, as the argument COULD be made (even if it does fall short in the long-run). Whether or not people argee, there ARE many points of evidence that support the existence of Jesus. None for Santa. The only thing Santa has is origins to a REAL man...but the man never had reindeer.


    The myth of Santa does tote in his "bag" some truths about giving and accceptance the importance of being good. But it's all based on a foundation of myth. And sadly, even what's actually true may be lost amongst the lies, and that's what is frightening about telling kids that Santa is real. They don't know yet how to discern lies from truth...it's hard enough to do as adults! Especially against skilled liars!


    I, too, will teach about Santa...the man.
  • Faerie_In_Combat_Boots@xanga

    @canicus@xanga - I agree.

    Just as a note, I think Christmas is a Christian holiday and should stay one. I get to celebrate nine days of Diwali, so I'm not going to complain of being left out of the Kwanzaa-Hanukkah-Christmas loop.
  • myfanwe@xanga

    I never had a problem with telling my kids that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are make believe. I told them about the traditions of Kris Kringle and St Nicholas as well, but the emphasis in our home was on Christ at Christmas.
  • Roadkill_Spatula@xanga

    This post was disappointing to me, since it made no mention of the real St. Nicholas. I'm glad @canicus@xanga and @ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga discussed him.


    Certainly we don't need to train our children to believe in myths, but there's no problem with enjoying the stories of Santa, Rudolph, the Grinch, and so on. It's obvious even to children that there is a big difference between the powerful, solemn historical descriptions in Matthew and Luke and the silly and fun poems and stories and movies we read or watch during the holidays. I want my kids to have the happiest memories possible of Christmas and everything related to it.
  • Vampira_tx@xanga

    Personally, when I have children I wont be including any fictional characters in their holiday celebrations, or occasions (including, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy). I wrote a blog about it recently. I struggled with faith and the invisible once I found out Santa and all of the other fictional characters that lived in my childhood did not survive into my older years (7+). I often wondered if God, Jesus, and even heaven were also imaginary. I do not want my children to have to question what is true and what is not.

    As far as Santa Claus, he will not be celebrated in my home, but when I have children I will teach them about these characters and help them to understand their history and their popularity. I like the way one commentor put it, they are only a game some play and it isnt okay for others to ruin it for those who do.
  • Pass_the_Aura@xanga

    Just to throw this out there, I find this piece by The Straight Dope quite interesting in an odd way, especially when juxtaposed with this fantastic column from last year's Wall Street Journal (citing Chesterton against Dawkins). Perhaps we're a bit too hasty to quash the perennial sense of mystery and wonder-- which after all are, in their way, essential parts of the Christian experience.

    That said, my parents taught me much like @SirNickDon@xanga describes (though without the laugh-out-loud punchline!), including the true story of good St. Nicholas. That's still probably the wisest way to go.
  • KoalaHero@xanga

    I'm single and don't have any children. I will tell my future children about Santa's origins but like other Disney's characters like Peter Pan, just because it's a fantasy doesn't mean you have to stop liking them. That would be like asking them to stop dreaming and wishing.
  • xsimplepleasuresx@xanga

    A question a post like this forces us to ask, how do you know Santa isn't real?  I'm sure all can see the parallelism between the first question and the question of God's existance. Second question, how did you know if the mother and those two children are Christian or not.


    My perspective: "If the Christian world wants to lie and believe in a lie, and promote a lie, then let them."  It don't affect me one bit unless they try and force their beliefs on me.  People can believe whatever they wish to believe.  I don't understand why some Christians have a problem with people celebrating a national holiday.  How does people believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny affect the celebration of a religious holiday to Christians one bit?  Answer- It doesn't.  Same as people believing in Jesus and God doesn't affect my christmas celebration one bit.


    Happy Holidays everyone!

  • Choose Identity

  • Give eProps (?)

About the Author

Tags

Who recommended?

Who gave the eProps?

2 eProps from: