We’re one week away from Christmas, and the Santa questions will start coming thick and heavy for Christian parents. For those of us who love Jesus, what are we to do with Santa?
Well, Mark Driscoll recently wrote an article for The Washington Post’s “On Faith” column about Santa, and he offers some practical advice.
‘Tis the season . . . for parents to decide if they will tell the truth about Santa.
When it comes to cultural issues like Santa, Christians have three options: (1) we can reject it, (2) we can receive it, or (3) we can redeem it.
Since Santa is so pervasive in our culture, it is nearly impossible to simply reject Santa as part of our annual cultural landscape. Still, as parents we don’t feel we can simply receive the entire story of Santa because there is a lot of myth built on top of a true story.
So, as the parents of five children, Grace and I have taken the third position to redeem Santa. We tell our kids that he was a real person who did live a long time ago. We also explain how people dress up as Santa and pretend to be him for fun, kind of like how young children like to dress up as pirates, princesses, superheroes, and a host of other people, real and imaginary. We explain how, in addition to the actual story of Santa, a lot of other stories have been added (e.g., flying reindeer, living in the North Pole, delivering presents to every child in one night) so that Santa is a combination of true and make-believe stories.
We do not, however, demonize Santa. Dressing up, having fun, and using the imagination God gave can be an act of holy worship and is something that, frankly, a lot of adults need to learn from children….
Driscoll goes on to give the history of the true Santa Claus. Did you know that he was an actual bishop who at one time was imprisoned for his faith in Christ and may have even defended Christ’s Deity in the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325? I encourage you to read the entire article and consider giving your children a history lesson on the real Saint Nick this Christmas.
The following articles may assist in providing a biographical sketch of ol’ Kris Kringle.
- The Real Saint Nick – Christianity Today
- The Origin of Santa Claus and the Christian Response to Him – Our Redeemer Lutheran church
[HT: Shaun Tabatt]
Thanks Bob, I just read this article today (my cousin sent it to me) and it was really interesting. Some of this info I knew some of it I didn’t. I am kind of a church history buff and enjoy learning about early church bishops, especially those who stood for the faith against heresy at the early church councils.
Blessings and Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Same to you too, Joshua. I get a chuckle out of the thought of Old Saint Nick disputing with the Arians…. 😉