Give Santa the 25th, we have a better story
I had lunch with a friend last week, we both have little kids. He asked me what i was going to tell my son about Santa Claus. To be honest, I hadn’t spent a great deal of time thinking about it. I hadn’t formed a strategy or written any papers on the Christology of religious holidays. As we talked I unpacked the rhythm in our home, not what others should do, but what I am doing with my family. I told my friend, “tell your kids the Santa story, but make sure you tell them there’s an even better story, a real story about God becoming a man.”
Couple of observations…
- Jesus was not born on December 25th
- Coca Cola commercialized the modern idea of Santa
- Santa is a worldwide cultural phenomenon
- People who don’t know Jesus don’t understand why Christians despise Santa.
- Santa is a fictional story like… Pinocchio, Cinderella, Elf, Natl. Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Cars, etc.
- Children can distinguish fact from fiction (any adults still believe in Santa? call your psychologist, or e-mail me and I’ll connect you with mine)
- Santa is a good story
- Those of us who know Christ have a better story.
We celebrate Christmas in my home, my family always has, with all the trimmings (we hunt for Easter Eggs too). We put cookies out for Santa and hope the kids don’t figure it out until they are at least 5. BUT, 365 days a year we tell a better story. The fictional idea of Santa is welcome in my house on the 25th because it’s just a story. Every morning and every night of the year we pray together as a family. We sing songs that praise our God. We ask each other for forgiveness.
My hope is that families will enjoy being with each other on the 25th. Even more so, parents will take time to tell the better story. When our hearts are focused on Christ year round we can enjoy a fictional story about the North Pole. Merry Christmas.
Great perspective.