Every year about this time I blog about the real meaning of Christmas. It’s certainly a well-covered topic by many authors but I always feel the need for my own spin. I usually reference a Ben Stein letter. See it here.
This year there has been a disturbing theme that has really caught me off guard. It seems that this year, people really got into Christmas early. Whether it was shopping earlier, hanging up the decorations or the stores outdoing themselves yet again, things were moving in a hurry. Because of this, people also began speaking about Christmas earlier. I’ve had many conversations this year about Santa versus Jesus. It wasn’t until the third conversation that it REALLY hit me. I even remember pointing my finger at the person I was talking to. “You are willing to defend Santa more than Jesus!” I said with eyes wide open like someone had just slapped my on my back.
Before you roll your eyes and move on to the next post consider how most of these conversations go.
PERSON: Are your kids excited about seeing Santa this year?
MATT: Well, we really don’t do the whole Santa thing.
PERSON: You mean you aren’t telling your kids about Santa?
MATT: Well, our children are young (3 and 9 months) but I’m not going to lie to them about a tale that overshadows the real reason we have Christmas.
PERSON: But it’s just for fun, how can you do that to your kids?
MATT: You mean, how can I decide to NOT lie to my kids. Well, I am just a horrible father.
See, I have yet to hear anyone use the “J” word in these conversations (Jesus). For some reason, it makes people uncomfortable when I say to them “I really want my kids to know that during Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus who is our Lord and Savior. It is the message of Emmanuel (God With Us) and the beginning of the greatest life that the people on earth have ever known. It is because of Him that we are saved and for this we celebrate this miraculous event.”
If you are uncomfortable with this message or think that there is more to Christmas then this, then maybe this particular Christian holiday is not for you. Maybe you should sit this one out.
Instead of ‘sitting it out,’ what we see instead is people making their own holiday. Maybe these people should instead celebrate Seinfeld’s Festivus.
So if anyone asks me again, how I can deprive my kids of believing in Santa, from now on my answer is this. I tell my kid’s about Jesus and not about Santa because I love them and I want them to know where they can turn to, to learn the truth. After all, they will have enough lies and confusion handed to them throughout their lives. I do this because it is my job as a father to train them in the way they should go. (Proverbs 22:6) It is my job and privilege to honor these celebrations such as Christmas and Easter for the amazing pieces of history that they are. I do this because I want them to know about the Grace that God has given us through his son, Jesus the Christ.
Merry Christmas kids.
My Plowshare 