(opinionated faith based writing - fair warning)
Last night while decorating the
tree, I hid three Santa ornaments that had been on our tree in the past and
only let the astronaut Santa go on our tree explaining what the space helmet
would do for his breathing. My son has
yet to sit on Santa’s lap and will never write a letter to the North Pole at my
command. My two year old son Eli has
been told more often that Santa isn’t real than he has unwrapped a Christmas
present. Am I a super-strict mother controlling her son’s
imagination and limiting the joy of Christmas?
Perhaps. What I am doing is
purposefully raising my son to not believe in Santa.
To children, Santa represents a
benevolent man with magic powers who delivers presents based on behavior and
merit. To parents, Santa represents a
system of check and balances on behavior and an excuse to indulge in extravagant
present buying for their children. To companies,
Santa represents a profit line, increased consumerism, and a feel good
atmosphere based on product and payment not associated to need. To non-believers, Santa represents a harmless
entry way to enjoy a traditional American Holiday. To
this believer, Santa represents a belief in ‘things’ which are given regardless
of need based on behavioral merit.
Now trust me, I don’t rally against
magic and enjoy card games with creatures like minotaurs and shows like Lord of
the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia. My
problem with Santa isn’t in his magic or that he is fictional. My problem with Santa is that the image and
message distract from the ethos of unmerited grace, intangible gifts of the
spirit, and giving more of ourselves than we give to ourselves (or our
household).
Our house is decorated for
Christmas, equipped with a pre-lit Christmas tree, little people Nativity set,
Avon toddler Nativity set, Willow Tree Nativity set, and angel tree topper. Some might argue that three nativity sets is
an equal sign of consumerism, and if I didn’t have them all given to me or see
my son put his hands on baby Jesus, make pretend cry sounds, then try to
comfort baby Jesus, I’d probably agree.
My son’s main learning environment is my house. His personality, character, and ethical views
are being formed today as I type while he plays with Thomas the Train in the
living room. My son is impressionable, and
the impressions around him now will impact him for years to come. I believe I should be purposeful in how my
household reacts to traditional American holidays, including the decision in
whether or not to embrace Santa.
I asked myself – what benefit is
brought by a belief in Santa when my son already knows the story of Jesus? Santa might encourage my son’s imagination,
or help him look forward to Christmas; however, what would his focus on
Christmas be? Looking over Black Friday
ads for things to ask for? Behaving and
doing nice things so that he can be extrinsically rewarded by a false personality
type with unlimited resources? Does
Santa represent something I want my son to idolize?
Consumerism is rampant in a society
of affluence. Gifts will be given on
credit card. 16 year olds will be given
smart phones and six month later be told to find a job so they can pay the two
year contract and be tied to the phone financially. People stood in line for hours on Black
Friday to buy gifts for people who said things like “I really don’t need
anything.” Living rooms will be piled
with over 10 gifts a person and some of those gifts will remain in the box to hide
in the basement, or be exchanged for something else, or sold on ebay. Christmas will be spent with teenagers
shooting guns and stealing cars on Grand Theft Auto, or people testing the
internet search restrictions on their new tablet to see if they now have a
sneakier way to avoid a visible internet history.
My husband and I are both
professionals able to pay our monthly bills and chose to put money into
savings. If we have true needs, we meet
the need that month. If we have wants,
we plan accordingly and try not to buy on impulse. We want to instill financial responsibility in
our son so that he can manage his wants and needs and not acquire a house full
of clutter. Santa does not fit our
financial planning model. Santa does not
model financial planning. Santa has no
budget, no resource allocation, and unlimited time apparently. It could stunt a person’s financial planning
ability to indulge in a yearly fantasy about a man who gifts everyone from his
unlimited resource pull based on behavior.
Santa being so key to the American version of Christ’s birthday has sold
the emphasis from a celebration of the gift of grace to the indulgence in gifts
bought with money. To allude to the
Bible, we give often not with the spirit of Christ, but with the power of what
is Caesar’s. The dollar often determines
our enjoyment of Jesus’ birthday. Jesus
didn’t come to help us enjoy our dollar bills more.
A family atmosphere that encourages
belief in Santa also encourages children to want what they don’t have and don’t
need, as if those resources fall from the sky with parachutes from sleighs. Parents ask children to create lists,
creating desires that weren’t present before and may not have an easy end
point. This need isn’t sated only once;
Santa comes yearly. Add in birthdays,
and children are expected to produce wants at least twice a year. Do we really need that much stuff? Do our children? Should we have a culture where we expect
everyone to have list for Christmas so it is easier to check their name off a
list of gift buying?
Santa is perfect for consumerism as
the image produces and encourages desire for pleasing things not attached to
need and viewed as if the items are from a stream of limitless resources. This ethic controls the modern Christmas too
often in America. Why should we have to
produce false needs so that people feel good in buying unnecessary gifts? Why have we been so conditioned to get the endorphin
rush unwrapping gifts and in swiping our plastic to buy gifts for those who don’t
need anything they can’t buy themselves?
Why is there acceptable social pressure to buy into consumerism on a
holiday about unconditional grace? Why
do we pass that on to our children?
Santa was not intended to be
subversive to the message of Christ. Saint
Nicolas is a long ways from the American Santa of 2013 though. The key ideas of Santa’s image are counter to
the Christian message in the story of Christ.
Christ does not give us physical tangible rewards on earth based on how
much we please our parents or the rules of society. When Jesus overturned the money-changers’
tables, he probably got knocked off Santa’s nice list for socially unacceptable
behavior that hurt others’ feelings.
Christ died for our sins to give us the overflowing gift of Grace. Santa keeps a list of our sins to see if we
end on the naughty or nice list. Christ
denounced the power of government coined currency; Santa drives the power of
government coined currency. Christ
encourages us to be good for heavenly rewards; Santa encourages us to be good
to receive gifts from the power of man that make our life on earth more pleasurable,
perhaps even pleasure based.
‘Black’ Friday is probably the day
the most ‘Santa’ gifts are bought. Black
Friday can take away from family time, shift the holiday of Thanksgiving from gratitude
to greed and set up Christmas to be based on earthly pleasures over heavenly
gifts and the ultimate sacrifice of forgiveness and grace. Check the Black Friday youtube videos to see
the extremes or go here: http://www.bing.com/search?q=walmart+black+friday+fight&form=msnhpm&refig=8df5b1fabaf14f71af70011478ab5cec .The name ‘black’ comes
from the ledger book and negative numbers being red and profits being black,
but isn’t it ironic that our latest national holiday is a celebration of the
materialism of hyper consumerism in America and detracts from the holy purpose
of the Christmas celebration?
It feels good to give gifts, and
pretty good to get them. It is probably
pretty pleasant to see a child’s face light up from Santa listening to a whole
list of the child’s desires. A lot of
things feel good. Jeremiah 17:9 admonished
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand
it?” Is the feel good heart warming of
the modern American Santa filled Christmas where we are meant to be? I’m not out to change America or tell you how
to live your life, but my personal answer to that question is no. That ‘no’ is why my son has been told more
times than he has unwrapped a Christmas gift that Santa isn’t real.
Proverbs 3:5-6 hangs in my kitchen: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.” Santa is cute, and the image brings pleasure to lots of people. However, cute and pleasing does not mean Santa is right to idolize in the formative years of building my son’s character. I love Christmas, and I believe the holiday has purpose, meaning, and fills families with joy. I want my son to know that joy. I want my son to know the reason for The Season. I want him to play with the toy sheep and cow and camel and pretend play the three wise men bringing gifts to Jesus. I want his joy in Christmas to come from family and spirituality and knowing he is saved because Christ bought the greatest gift of all with a sacrifice not present in the ageless undying form of Santa. I want my son to enjoy Christmas, but I don’t want the consumerist pleasure based X-mas drive for dollar signs to color his perception of the most important holiday of our faith. Purposefully, as for me and my house, we will not believe in Santa and will try to avoid the consumerist rush of a ‘things’ based Christmas.
And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct[a] your paths.” Santa is cute, and the image brings pleasure to lots of people. However, cute and pleasing does not mean Santa is right to idolize in the formative years of building my son’s character. I love Christmas, and I believe the holiday has purpose, meaning, and fills families with joy. I want my son to know that joy. I want my son to know the reason for The Season. I want him to play with the toy sheep and cow and camel and pretend play the three wise men bringing gifts to Jesus. I want his joy in Christmas to come from family and spirituality and knowing he is saved because Christ bought the greatest gift of all with a sacrifice not present in the ageless undying form of Santa. I want my son to enjoy Christmas, but I don’t want the consumerist pleasure based X-mas drive for dollar signs to color his perception of the most important holiday of our faith. Purposefully, as for me and my house, we will not believe in Santa and will try to avoid the consumerist rush of a ‘things’ based Christmas.
Jesus
is the reason for the season. As
parents, I think we have a responsibility to purposefully consider how we
approach holidays in our household.
Happy Holidays! May the season
find you well. God be with you in the
Christmas season.
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