The Christmas Season

I love the Christmas season.  I have a ton of great memories from my childhood that still make me happy when I think of them.  I know some folks out there have not had such good memories of the holidays and that makes me sad.  I love remembering about seeing all my family and eating the most awesome home-made food from my grand-parents.  I have some great memories of some family members that have passed away in that last few years that I was so blessed to be around.  I have a few bad memories around the holidays too, but the overarching feeling I get when I think back is a warm one.  Without going any further into the details of my christmas time memories, I would like to talk about something that has been the topic of conversation for me and my wife lately....what are we going to do with our children as far as Santa Claus goes.  I personally think it is a conscience decision that is not specifically spelled out in the Bible.  However, I do think we ought to make every decision with the light of God's Word guiding us.  Where it does not specifically tell us what to do we ought to decide based on Biblical principles.  I think the Bible teaches us to be very purposeful with everything.  We are not just to decide whatever we want as long as the Bible does not say.  We are to 'do all things to the glory of God' (1 corinthians).  So with all that in mind, me and Emily have decided teach our children first and foremost about the wonderful Gift of Christmas that is Jesus, and within that mind-set to teach them about a man of God who followed truly followed Jesus, St. Nicholas.  As far as Santa Claus goes, we are not going to treat him as an evil idea.  I consider him along the same lines as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, all of which are fictional characters.  I don't think this will in any way take away any happiness from our children.  How can focusing all of their attention on a wonderful God that loved them so much that He gave His only begotten Son to live and die for them so that they could go to heaven one day be boring or a strike against their happiness.  On top of this there are some things about Santa Claus that I am weary of.  For one thing He supposedly only gives gifts to you if you have been a good boy or girl.  I guess poor children are all bad.  Another thing is that He is supposed to be able to see them at all times.  (He sees you when your sleeping, he knows when your awake.......)  Personally the only one I want my children to ever think about seeing them at all times is God.  Now I know, I can already hear some of you saying how overboard this is, but once again I'm just giving you my train of thought about it.  If we as parents are supposed to do everything to point our children to a personal relationship with Jesus, (a relationship that is not based on their performance, but on His mercy), then shouldn't we at least consider the possibility that Santa Claus could be a stumbling block to this.  Santa Claus teaches them to be good and they will get gifts, Jesus teaches them that He died for them in spite of their actions.  Now the story of St. Nicholas on the other hand teaches us to be like Jesus, who gave in spite of, not because of.  I have just recently researched to historical St. Nicholas.  There are tons of stories, some of which seem sure to be folklore, but some which seem to be true.  The most famous one was told by just about every writer I read.  The story is about this man that had three daughters.  He was poor and on the verge of starving along with the rest of his family.  So in desperation he decided to sell one of his daughters into slavery.  The night before he was going to take her to be sold, St Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down the chimney and hurried away before he was found.  The man found the money and did not sell his daughter.  The story is told a little different by each writer, but the jest of it is the same.  St. Nicholas gave to a man that was in real need.  That is the example of Jesus.  He became poor, so we could be rich.  He died, so we could live.  What an awesome Saviour!  Another reason I think teaching only Jesus at Christmas is a good idea is because of the possibility of teaching our children the joy of giving to those who really need it.  Now I would never go into any details or say we or anyone else should give any certain amount to those in need each Christmas, but the example of Jesus leads us to do something.  If we allow our children to take part in this their whole lives, they will hopefully be drawn to the God who inspires all the giving.  This type of thinking is in sharp contrast to 'being good so that I can get all the toys I want'.  I want my children to think,  "Mommy and Daddy love us and give us gifts at Christmas."  That is all.  I can't wait till Garrison and Allie are old enough to enjoy the anticipation of getting gifts on Christmas morning, but I want them to know that they got them because we love them not because they earned them.  

Honestly, it scares me how tightly we hold on to Santa Clause.  It seems for some of us that our affections are stirred much more by thinking of him than by thinking of Jesus.  Its seems to me that, though we would never say it, we believe Jesus is the necessary part and Santa is the fun.  God help us if this is the case.  We need to be brought back to the wonder of how awesome the real story of Christmas is.  

With all that said I will not cut you off as friends if you disagree with me.  I would love to hear other angles on this topic if you would like to comment.

Ryan