Why Santa Doesn't Visit Our House
I have a lot of people who ask me why I don't allow or encourage my children to believe in Santa. To me, as a Christian, this question does not make sense and is a non-issue. But for so many others, it seems as if I am some how marring my children's childhood by not telling them about Santa. I assure you, this is not the case. My children seem no worse off for not believing in this mythical being any more than they are worse off for me not encouraging them to believe in giants, ghosts, or bogey men.
That being said, there are two primary reasons why I have never told my children that Santa exists. First, regardless of the existence of a Catholic saint named Saint Nicholas, Santa is not real! He is a fictional person loosely based on the Legend of St. Nicholas. To tell my children that Santa Claus is real and is watching them all the time is a lie, plain and simple. As a parent who struggles to impart on my child the importance of telling the truth, I can not in my own mind, legitimize intentionally deceiving them. Some people's argument hear might be, its not really a lie, its pretending. To which my response would be, pretending is imagining something exists that you know does not, it does not mean convincing someone else, even if they are children, that it is real.
Second, all the myths about Santa Claus are in direct conflict with my Christian faith. Yes, I said it, Santa conflicts with Christianity. So I assume at this point that someone is going to roll their eyes and say "here we go, I knew she'd say Santa is evil." So let me ensure you, I don't think Santa is evil, I tend not to put such attributes on fictional characters, and I do not believe that people who tell their children about Santa are evil. However, I would ask Christians to seriously consider what I am about to say.
Let me refer back to my previous statement about lying to your children. First, the Bible commands us not to lie. Second, children are not foolish beings, they may believe what their parents say when they are younger but there will be a stage when they begin to question. That questioning is a healthy part of development. However, if we lie to our children about the existence of Santa they will eventually discover that lie (the average age for this discovery is 8 years old) and this may lead them to question what other things you lied about, like the very existence of God! You've already lied to them about Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, why should they believe you when you talk about God.
That being said, let us more closely examine the myth of Santa Claus. The basic premise behind using Santa to get your children to behave around Christmas is this; he knows when you're naughty or nice, he sees you all the time! Sound familiar, it should because it speaks to the omini-presence of our Sovereign God. God is the only person who knows everything we do, everything we say, and everything we think. So by making Santa this all powerful being, we are elevating him to the same level as God. In a sense we are making him a god. Remember that thing in the Bible, the Ten Commandments, that says "You shall have no god before me!" God does not want us to worship anything or anyone before Him. He wants to be the ultimate authority in my life and is the only one who deserves that position. In many cases the image of Santa takes a position of prominence above that of Christ on Christmas. If you hear a person talk to their children about Christmas you would likely hear them mention Santa more than Jesus! And regardless of what non-believers may try to say: Jesus is the Reason for the Season. He is the entire reason Christians participate in Christmas celebrations.
All this being said, I do have Santa figures in my home for decoration around Christmas, just as I have figures of dancing snowmen, and singing penguins, but my children have never been told these things are real and Santa does not visit my house on Christmas Eve because with Christ in our Hearts, there is no room for Santa!!
That being said, there are two primary reasons why I have never told my children that Santa exists. First, regardless of the existence of a Catholic saint named Saint Nicholas, Santa is not real! He is a fictional person loosely based on the Legend of St. Nicholas. To tell my children that Santa Claus is real and is watching them all the time is a lie, plain and simple. As a parent who struggles to impart on my child the importance of telling the truth, I can not in my own mind, legitimize intentionally deceiving them. Some people's argument hear might be, its not really a lie, its pretending. To which my response would be, pretending is imagining something exists that you know does not, it does not mean convincing someone else, even if they are children, that it is real.
Second, all the myths about Santa Claus are in direct conflict with my Christian faith. Yes, I said it, Santa conflicts with Christianity. So I assume at this point that someone is going to roll their eyes and say "here we go, I knew she'd say Santa is evil." So let me ensure you, I don't think Santa is evil, I tend not to put such attributes on fictional characters, and I do not believe that people who tell their children about Santa are evil. However, I would ask Christians to seriously consider what I am about to say.
Let me refer back to my previous statement about lying to your children. First, the Bible commands us not to lie. Second, children are not foolish beings, they may believe what their parents say when they are younger but there will be a stage when they begin to question. That questioning is a healthy part of development. However, if we lie to our children about the existence of Santa they will eventually discover that lie (the average age for this discovery is 8 years old) and this may lead them to question what other things you lied about, like the very existence of God! You've already lied to them about Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, why should they believe you when you talk about God.
That being said, let us more closely examine the myth of Santa Claus. The basic premise behind using Santa to get your children to behave around Christmas is this; he knows when you're naughty or nice, he sees you all the time! Sound familiar, it should because it speaks to the omini-presence of our Sovereign God. God is the only person who knows everything we do, everything we say, and everything we think. So by making Santa this all powerful being, we are elevating him to the same level as God. In a sense we are making him a god. Remember that thing in the Bible, the Ten Commandments, that says "You shall have no god before me!" God does not want us to worship anything or anyone before Him. He wants to be the ultimate authority in my life and is the only one who deserves that position. In many cases the image of Santa takes a position of prominence above that of Christ on Christmas. If you hear a person talk to their children about Christmas you would likely hear them mention Santa more than Jesus! And regardless of what non-believers may try to say: Jesus is the Reason for the Season. He is the entire reason Christians participate in Christmas celebrations.
All this being said, I do have Santa figures in my home for decoration around Christmas, just as I have figures of dancing snowmen, and singing penguins, but my children have never been told these things are real and Santa does not visit my house on Christmas Eve because with Christ in our Hearts, there is no room for Santa!!
Comments
Post a Comment