Why Not Santa Claus? (Part 3)
From my last two posts regarding Santa you might think I was raised with these convictions, but that is simply not the case. Like most children, I grew up believing in and enjoying Santa Claus. All season long I would anxiously wait for the gifts he would bring and every Christmas morning I awoke with the excitement of knowing that “Santa” had left these special gifts for me under the tree and would quickly rush to unwrap them. Even when I got older and understood that Santa was not real I enjoyed the tradition of having gifts say “from Santa” on them. I do not look back on those wonderful experiences and abhor them, on the contrary I find them very sentimental!
However, having experienced the joy and excitement of Santa as a child I can honestly say that I would have rather been taught how to worship and enjoy Christ instead. My parents tried their best to tell me about the birth of Christ, even reading the Biblical account, but I never really gave it much thought. In my childish mind I understood that these moments of thinking about Jesus were supposed to be the real purpose of our celebration, but in my heart I really only cared about getting to the part where we unwrapped the gifts from Santa.
You see, when my family and I became Christians and totally devoted our lives to Christ (starting around my sophomore year in high school) Christmas took on a whole new meaning. Suddenly it was a time to thank God for the miraculous gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, rather than a time to focus on material gifts. Every part of my life, including Christmas, became an opportunity to worship and adore the one who saved my soul from eternal condemnation. As a Christian, my heart’s desire is to glorify God in every area of my life (as much as humanly possible) and I desire to help my family do the same. I especially want to teach my children how to know and honor the Lord early on in their lives through our family traditions.
Christmas provides a special opportunity to take extra time to focus on Jesus and why he came to earth in the form of man. Rather than let this time slip through our fingers, Richard and I want to make the most of it. We have come to the conclusion that the best way to do this is to cut out anything (anything possible) that distracts from this message and add anything we can that will bring to life this message. For us, Santa falls into the category of unnecessary and even distracting traditions and because of this we have no need of him. Though it was emotionally hard for me to make this decision at first, I have found that the Lord quickly blessed our desire to focus our hearts and time on him alone. My prayer is that one day he will use our Christmas traditions to usher our children into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing to have a time so devoted to the Messiah! What a tragedy it would be if I simply let it slip through our fingers.
And so this is why Richard and I have chosen to not include Santa in our Christmas traditions. Not because we think Santa is evil, or that other parents who tell there children about Santa are evil, but because through prayer and counsel we honestly believe that the best way to help our children love Christ more is to show them that we love Christ in every area of our lives, including our Christmas traditions. Through our joyful celebration of the Messiah’s birth it is our prayer that they too will come to have a similar joy and excitement when the season approaches. I am so very grateful that our God is worth celebrating every moment of every day, and that we have a special opportunity to do so in even greater abundance during the season of Christmas.
So, in answer to the question “Why Not Santa?” I simply want to say “Why not Jesus?”
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11 ESV)
You may be wondering what you would do during Christmas without Santa. If so, I would love for you to read the recent series “Cultivating a Christ-centered Christmas.” Just click here to learn about many Christ-centered traditions you can implement in your family!
Photo Credit
This post is linked to Time-Warp Wife’s Titus 2sday.
If this is your first time to visit Desiring Virtue you may want to join our growing community of passionate homemakers by "liking" DV on Facebook, following DV on Twitter, or subscribing to DV's email delivery via Feedburner.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing your heart with us. For the past two years I’ve gotten responses from family members that were basically asking, “why not Santa?” And my response has been “Why DO Santa?” It always throws them for a loop. They can’t come up with a really good reason that Santa is necessary (not one that can’t be counter-argued with a better thought. Because it’s fun — so is our Advent calendar and daily activities. Because they’re getting cheated on presents — GETTING isn’t the focus of Christmas and they get THREE Wise Men Gifts on Christmas morning instead of ONE Santa present. And so on..) But I really like “Why not Jesus?” I think that’s my new answer. =)
Yes, this is my heart-that our Christmases would be filled with true, lasting, wonderful joy that comes from Christ! Thanks for your comment Amber I am happy to meet you and visit your site!
Why do Santa?
We like to.
Just as you like coffee in the morning, the newspaper, television, electric washing machines, hair ribbons, hot water heaters, etc. None of these are necessary, but you like them. I like Santa.
Thank you for your comment Jackie. I appreciate you feeling comfortable to share your thoughts, even when you may not agree with me! I understand what you mean by “I like Santa”, but I think you are missing the point that I am trying to make. Just as with everything else, be it the morning coffee, newspaper, television, electric washing machines, hair ribbons, hot water heaters, etc…, we must weigh the decisions we make and the profit they have for our souls. If coffee takes away my enjoyment of the Savior, then it should definitely be stricken from my life. If the television causes me to lust, grow greedy, or become materialistic, then it should be removed from our home (at the very least it should be severely limited, so as to limit the opportunity to do so). If hair ribbons cause my children to be distracted from spiritual advancement, then I would never use them in my daughters’ hair.
The problem with Santa is not that he isn’t fun…. Actually the fact that he is SO fun, and parents put so much effort into MAKING him fun, is the problem. As I said in the post before this, how can we expect our children to be excited about the Savior’s birth (something so hard to explain and hard to understand) when they are sitting on Santa’s lap at the mall, verbally communicating with him? Who is more real to the child? My heart in discussing this topic is not to vilify Santa, but to encourage us to consider if we really need Santa, if he is indeed spiritually beneficial to our Christmas.
Also, I think it is important to note that for a child, Santa is much different from an inanimate object. He is a person, a magical person who becomes a very big part of their winter.
I hope you will consider this response and let me know if my point has been clarified at all. Again, thank you for your interaction.
By His Grace, Jessalyn
There are so many reasons to not have Santa be part of your Christmas celebration. First, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13).” It is impossible to think completely of two things at once. If you are celebrating Santa, you cannot be celebrating Jesus. People argue that Santa makes people do kind things. Why not do kind things because of a real person doing the greatest thing of all?
My mother questioned if God existed when she found out that Santa wasn’t real. I honestly think she struggled with it her whole life because Santa had played such a large role in her Christmas (although her parents also taught that Christ was the real reason for Christmas). Surprisingly, she still taught her children about Santa. When I found out the truth, I doubted everything my parents had taught me and wondered what was really true (although I never questioned God). Why take a chance at destroying trust and faith in a parent/child relationship?
I have always taught the importance of telling the truth to my children. How can I teach one thing and then spend a whole month or more, lying about something that isn’t real? For me, “because it is fun” is not a good reason to lie.
I worried that my children would miss out on the “magic” of the season without celebrating Santa but I have been pleasantly surprised at how much more magical it is. Not only is Christmas morning pleasant because you don’t have tired, cranky children who are disappointed with their gifts, they can feel the magic of the Savior. The other day, my 7 year-old son said, “I feel so good inside. Christmas makes me feel peace and happiness.”
As I honestly examine my youth, I never thought about Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. I was too caught up in Santa Claus. Then after the presents were opened Christmas morning, there was a huge sense of let-down. That feeling has never come with my children who have never experienced Santa.
I think back to my experiences as a child with sadness and regret as I realize my lack of feeling for my friend. I came from a family that was relatively well-to-do and she came from a single mother home. I had dozens upon dozens of Christmas presents and she would get one. What kind of loving Santa would give so freely to one and not another? Looking back, I recognize the pain it caused her to come over and see what I received for Christmas. I’m sure Santa didn’t bring her happiness and joy.
I honestly believe that you can make the holiday season fun and memorable for your children without Santa. It might take some work to come up with some creative ideas, but they are there.
When I was explaining to my then 5 year-old son that people believe in Santa and all that the belief entails, he asked, “Why would they believe something so silly?” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Thank you for your thoughts Keri. I definitely agree with you. A point that you bring up, which I think is at the heart of the discussion is the focus on material things and the lust for stuff that Santa creates. I too remember those feelings as a child of being “let down” after Christmas. Not because I didn’t get enough stuff (my parents always blessed us with many gifts), but because it wasn’t the “right” stuff or if it was, I still just wasn’t satisfied. Lust never is.
Does your family do gifts at all, and if so, how do you do them?
That’s a good question. We are really a work in progress. We haven’t wanted to totally eliminate gifts all together because I think it’s important for our children to learn to give gifts, whether it be something tangible or time or love. We give a couple of gifts and talk about why we give gifts (Christ was a gift from Heavenly Father, Christ gives us the greatest gift there is, we need to give gifts to the Savior, etc.). We definitely don’t put the gifts out early, so that the kids won’t think about what gifts they are going to get. As the kids get older, we will try to do more homemade gifts (meaning they will make gifts for one another). It’s not exactly where I would like it to be yet, but I feel like we are moving in the right direction.
That is pretty much what we do. We give the kids one gift each and each get each other one gift (my husband and I) so as to minimize the focus of presents. We try to remind ourselves and our kids that we are so blessed by God through not only salvation, but the many daily blessings he gives to us, which makes us desire to bless others as well (which is what we are doing with presents). We too hope to develop a desire in each of them to give a gift to their siblings as well. How wonderful to be able to bless each other, and how sad for that joy to go to Santa!
We have never told our children about a Santa Claus. I’ve been against it and like many others I want them to know the true meaning of Christmas. Our oldest started Kindergarten this year, and lately he’s been referencing Santa Claus. I know he’s hearing about it at school because it’s not a part of our discussions at home.
My question is how do you tell a 5 year old there’s no Santa Claus? He knows that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, and we even have a huge birthday party at our house on Christmas morning. But can you offer any suggestions on how to let him know that Santa is not real, and he’s not bringing presents to our house?
Hi Sabrina,
Thank you for your comment. I think it is very important in your situation (as in all of ours) to not be afraid to talk about Santa Claus with you little boy. It is important for you to provide a framework for your little boy to understand why his teacher and classmates are talking about Santa as though he is a real person. If it is something that isn’t really brought up in your own home (which is probably the case, as I don’t normally talk about him with my little boys unless they see a cartoon with him in it) then he will not know that what the story of Santa isn’t true. He may just assume that you don’t know about him!
I think it would be very helpful to talk with your son about the real St. Nicholas and all of the wonderful things that he did for God. Perhaps buying a book that explores the true story of St. Nicholas would be helpful. Another great resource might be the “What’s In the Bible” Christmas DVD (made by the man who created Veggie Tales). I know that it talks a lot about St. Nicholas and why people celebrate Christmas with Santa Claus.
With my own children I intend to talk with them about the historical man (St. Nicholas) and explain that over the years people have decided to celebrate him, rather than the God he served. One of the ways they celebrate him is by pretending that he is still alive and that he brings presents to good children. We know that isn’t true and that it is loving mommies and daddies who want to bless their children who actually give them gifts. In our home we want to celebrate our wonderful God just like St. Nicholas did and one of the ways we do so is by blessing each other with gifts because he has given us so much. We also want to emulate St. Nicholas by giving to the needy who have so little, because that is what Jesus said his church should do.
I may sound over simplistic by saying, just tell him the truth, but I don’t believe that we need to sugar coat things for our children. We want them to grow up with a true, Biblical framework for their lives, one they can sift through the world’s lies with. In order for that to be the case, they need to be able to trust us to tell them the truth at all times.
I hope that is helpful.
By His Grace, Jessalyn
This is something that I’ve been thinking about lately even though I don’t have children yet.
I’m not sure what I want to do when the time comes, honestly. I know that I definitely do want to feature many Christ-centered activities throughout the Advent season. I definitely do want to do gifts — other family members would give gifts anyway, and I really enjoy being able to give to others and I want to teach my children the same thing. If we do Santa, we’d probably still use the “3 gift for the wise men” model from Santa, plus gifts from me and my husband (I always had gifts from Santa plus gifts from my parents.) My husband never had a Santa, though he did receive gifts… Honestly, I can’t imagine Christmas without him! Even as an adult, wherein I do focus more on Christ than my family did as a child, I love the magic of “Santa” in the season.
I’m fonder of an “old world” type of Santa, though — I thought of having us do a small gift thing in the stockings or shoes from “Santa” or “St Nicholas” on his feast day in order to strike a better balance.
I have been reading more and more about Christian families that celebrate St. Nicholas Day (which of course is earlier than Christmas) and put out stockings (or shoes even at the end of the beds) that are filled with goodies from St. Nicholas. Even in these situations, however, I believe that it is important for it to be known that St. Nicholas is imaginary and that it is really Mommy and Daddy blessing the children in the spirit of St. Nick so as not to confuse the minds of children who may begin to doubt their parent’s honesty or intelligence later on down the line. I think this would be a fun tradition that could help explain why we give gifts on Christmas (using St. Nick as an example of Christian charity). I also think that this would not take away from the big celebration of Christ’s incarnation later on in the month. Thank you for your thoughts!