Should Christian parents encourage belief in Santa Claus?

G’day everyone, Dave Deane here, and our question for the week is: Should Christian parents encourage belief in Santa Claus?

In the final months of every calendar year, we find ourselves bombarded by colours, carols, characters and smells associated with Christmas. In particular, there’s always one reoccurring fellow that makes an appearance on the TV, billboards, ads, front lawns, email signatures, websites, shopping malls, and, well, just about everywhere you turn your head: yep, the big red ‘n white: Santa Claus.

And now we find ourselves with this question: Should Christian parents encourage belief in Santa Claus, in this creature ever-present at this time of year?

Well, let me say first of all, I’m in no position to pass judgement on your own views, which I frankly don’t know; nor would it be appropriate for me to tell you how to run your house, raise your kids, or navigate this particular question of Santa Claus. But the question has come in, and it is a good one, so I will give a candid response from my own personal convictions, and I suppose I’ll leave it to you to weigh up in your own household how you’ll speak to your children about Santa.

In response, I have three thoughts I’ll share.

First, out of the gate, let me say that I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong, immoral, or sinful with fantasy, fiction, and imagination. In fact, I think the imagination is one of the most critical aspects of our cognitive function as human beings, but that is a question for another day.

So, I guess, before I’m called a scrooge, or grinch, let it be known that Dave Deane has no particular problem with parents ‘playing Santa’ with their children. I mean, we play fantasy and made-up games all the time with our children; we very often read and enjoy fiction books, and movies. Nothing wrong with any of that – in fact, it can be a very rewarding, instructive, joyful, even inspiring thing to get stuck into a good story. You know, there’s a reason Jesus told parables all the time.

BUT, notice the way I’m talking about these examples – as fiction, as fantasy, as make-believe. In the playing, in the reading and the movie watching, there is at all times, or at least should be, an awareness that the situation or the story is fiction. You know, the Chronicles of Narnia is not REAL like backyards, bbq’s, and little brothers.

The issue, then, is not with the make-believe, but with making our children believe in the make-believe.

And this takes us to a second point.

Second: Santa Claus is not real, and to suggest otherwise is to lie.

Again, speaking personally here: on the one hand I don’t have any issue with playing pretend or make believe, which is why I don’t block my ears when I hear jingle bells, or burn plastic Santa statues, or abstain from fun kid flicks, like Elf.

BUT for whatever reason, on this particular issue of Santa Claus, parents seem to get a cultural pass on basic parental responsibilities as our world encourages us to blur the lines between the reality and fiction of this old red suited, white bearded fellow named Santa Claus.

So let me put it this way: Should Christian parents encourage belief in Santa Claus? If by ‘belief in’ we mean belief in the reality of this creature, then I think the answer is really quite simple for Christian parents: categorically, no. I just, I do not think it is possible for Christians to preserve the myth and magic of Santa Claus in the way our culture encourages on the one hand, without disobeying the clear instruction of Colossians 3:9 to not lie to one another. We cannot teach our children that Santa Claus is real if our intention is to teach our children the truth. To say a simple statement of fact, like Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, is to lie; it is not truthful; it is misleading; it is deceiving. Same with, you know, getting our children to leave cookies and milk out for Santa, then taking a bite and a sip ourselves to deceive our children by making it look like Santa broke into the house under cover of darkness.

To those who might say, ‘Oh come on Dave, it’s completely harmless to tell our kiddies Santa is real, because it doesn’t hurt anyone; it’s fun! It’s festive! Don’t be a kill joy. Well, don’t take it from me, take it from the word of God: Proverbs 25:18 “Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.” Lying is destructive; Satan himself is called the Father of lies and that is why it’s naive for parents pressing this point of Santa’s reality to think it’s quote ‘harmless fun’. It’s not harmless fun, it’s harm-ful… it’s unloving… I mean, when else do we ever press upon our children that fantasies and fictions are real? (Yes – that was bait for any skeptics listening to write in and ask: “How is ‘Jesus’ any more real than Santa Claus?”).

Santa is pretend, and I see no reason for parents to pretend that he isn’t. Children want to know the truth of things, that’s why they’ll end up asking you about Santa Claus, and as a parent, you’ll be responsible for what you say. To my mind, the fun and festivities turn into, like a dark carnival, when child-deception is masked as ‘harmless fun.’ If there’s any confusion in what a parent should say when little Johnny asks ‘mummy [or daddy], is Santa real?’ then that confusion is not with the child, but with the parent. I mean, if the concern is for our children’s imaginary well-being, well, that says more about us – Christian – parents than it does our children. If we think our children NEED Santa Claus at Christmas, then we don’t think the thrilling truth of Christmas concerning the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is awe inspiring enough! That’s why we need to wrap it up in the obscure story of an unknown-yet-somehow-trustworthy old man living in social seclusion in freezing conditions at the north pole with elves who somehow see’s your children sleeping and knows when their awake, keeping a running list of their behaviour to determine, in the final analysis, whether or not he – Santa – should make a special journey yelling “ho ho ho” while riding a snow sled pulled by flying reindeer through the sky to land on your roof and enter your home unannounced under cover of darkness down your chimney, which many of us no longer have anymore, to leave gifts for your, at least by his standards, ‘good’ children.

I mean… this question is addressed to Christian parents, so let me ask you: what kind of story is the story of Santa Claus?

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

That is not a good news story, friends! It’s bad news! No Gospel at all! It’s a cheap, plastic work-for-reward scheme we call a ‘celebration’.

Have we so lost the awe and wonder of the true meaning of Christmas in the coming of our Lord and saviour; the mind-blowing infinite God colliding with finite creation as a babe born of Mary in the town of Bethlehem, just as the prophet Micah foretold hundreds and hundreds of years earlier? If we get the truth of the gospel, what need do we have for the fake plastic consumerist ploy called Santa Claus?

And this leads me to a cheeky third point

Third: I think it is because of this awe-inspiring truth that St Nicholas himself would be the first person to tell you to abandon belief in the now legend of his name, Santa Claus.

The history of Santa Claus is interesting. The legend we know today was borne out of a real historical person who lived in the 4^th century, a Christian man named Bishop Nicholas of Myra (found in modern day Turkey).

Bishop Nicholas lived during the days of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who hated and persecuted Christians, and spent years of his life in jail where he was routinely beaten for his beliefs. After the legalization of Christianity under the succeeding Emperor, Constantine, Bishop Nicholas was released from prison.

There are some suggestions that Bishop Nicholas was present at the Church’s First Ecumenical Council in Nicea in 325 AD, along with hundreds of other Bishops who gathered to refute the false views of Arius, who denied the deity of Jesus as God. Now, I’m not sure of the truth of these claims, but it is said that Nicholas was so passionate about the deity of Christ that at one point he crossed the floor and punched Arius in the face, resulting in further jail time.

That aside, Nicholas was left a large fortune from his parents, which he decided to distribute to the poor and needy, doing so, at times, anonymously, under cover of darkness, so as to not be identified. And it was after his death, sometime in the month of December around the mid-4^th century, that the legend grew of his annual return, giving gifts and offerings to only good boys and girls.

So that’s the origin of the Santa Claus story – and it’s ironically, a Christian one, which is why I think if Bishop Nicholas was around today, he’d be the first person to stand up and say ‘down with Santa Claus.’ I mean, for one thing, Nicholas’ was passionate for the truth concerning Jesus, a truth which spilled out in his anonymous generosity. Now days, Santa is mass-marketed ploy for consumerism distracting people from the truth of Jesus and, indeed, the heart of compassion that sparked the giving of gifts in the first place.

And, just as a footnote, the alternate name for Santa Claus, “Kris Kringle”, came about thanks to Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, who loved celebrating Christmas but wanted to disassociate with the Catholic Feast celebrating the life of St Nicholas, advocating, instead, for the Christ Child, Christkindl, which gave us the name, “Kris Kringle.” So there again, we have concern for the truth of Jesus at Christmas behind the name.

So, Should Christian parents encourage belief in Santa Claus? Well, again, I’m not here to tell you how to run your household. But, well, I think I’ve made my personal view rather clear. The issue isn’t enjoying pretend, fiction and make believe; that’s not the issue. The issue is: why would a Christian parent, who has found the greatest treasure in the world; who has found all of their desires for myth and fantasy in historical fact in the incarnation; the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus; why would a Christian parent ever dream of replacing, obscuring or supplementing this most awe inspiring thrilling truth with something as cheap, and fake, and hopeless, and – yep, pathetic a myth – as Santa Claus who’s plastic gospel is ‘you better be good…’ (I mean, by whose standard, right?); ‘you better not cry’ (you know, supress your emotions…)

The gift of Santa Claus is a cheap plastic toy bought with your money that your kids will probably be bored of probably by the afternoon, which is why you’ll have to keep on buying them more and more stuff. The gift of Jesus Christ is doesn’t cost you or your children a cent… It’s free… it has nothing whatever to do with your goodness or badness… and for that, it’s lasting…

I just… I cannot help but see the effort of Christian parents to lay the story of Santa Claus over the story of Jesus at Christmas as anything other than a failure of their own thrill at the greatest story in human history. It’s a failure of imagination and awe, and worship in the babe of Bethlehem, and the cradle of our Christ.

1 O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

2 For Christ is born of Mary,
and, gathered all above
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King
and peace to all the earth.

3 How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.

4 O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray,
cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Immanuel!