A Christmas Rant: How Santa Ruins Christmas
Yes, you read that right. I believe Santa has been ruining Christmas for years now. Christmas is an opportunity to celebrate the real deal, not a cheap knockoff. Jesus is really God. He really came to save you. He really brings peace on earth and joy to men. Jesus is better than our best attempts to celebrate Him. But instead of trying to celebrate Him, we tap out and celebrate someone fake instead. This little rant against Santa does not come because I feel sorry for Jesus. Our Lord killed Death; He’s not afraid of man who wears red suits. Instead, I feel sorry for Christians who believe the Santa lie is good for their families and their faith.
Obviously with a little article like this I can’t answer every single rebuttal that exists. Since Santa is everywhere this time of year, Christians have to address him somehow. Burning Santa displays in your neighbor’s front yard is not a good idea. But neither is lying to your kids. My position for Santa rests on two simple principles: Don’t lie to your kids and enjoy Jesus.
So, what’s wrong with Santa?
Santa is not God
“He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness’ sake.” That line from Santa Claus is Coming to Town could pass as a line in a song you sing at church. But we don’t sing that about Jesus. We sing it about some dude who lives in the North Pole. This should go without saying, but Santa isn’t God. But that hasn’t stopped us from singing about him like he’s semi-divine. Because our motives are “pure,” we wouldn’t call our attitudes toward Santa idolatry. But what do you call praising someone who isn’t God as if he were God?
The Bible gives a clear explanation on how to define an idol. First, an idol is man-made replacement for the one true God (Isaiah 44:9-20). It can be a golden cow with a funny name or a hidden desire for real gold. Either way, demons get excited when you’re worshipping an idol (1 Corinthians 10:14-22). Second, idols demand the worship that we should give to God alone. If your idol is Zeus, then you worship him, not God (breaking the first commandment). If your idol is club baseball, then you don’t keep the Sabbath day as holy (breaking the fourth commandment). If your idol is Santa, when you’re told he’s is an idol, you will likely defend Santa’s reputation as if he’s the Lord (breaking the third commandment). Third, you become what you worship (Psalm 135:15-18). For example, Christians do not learn the moral categories of “naughty and nice” from the Bible; it’s not in there. However most Christians today are paralyzed to live bold Christian lives because they believe in being nice instead. Where did they learn that? We taught them to be nice when we wanted peace and quiet during the month of December. You become what you worship. Let me keep this simple: If your kids are more excited about Santa than Jesus, then you’ve set up an idol in your house.
Because Santa is an idol, Christians should treat him like a one. The first thing idolators should do is flee from idols and guard little children from idols (1 John 5:21). Second, and most importantly, Christians should worship God fully and joyfully. We get to celebrate the birth of the King of kings every year. It should be a season of feasting, dancing, singing, giving, and laughing. So, have parties, eat a lot of cake, watch Christmas movies, and tell your kids it’s all a gift from Jesus—because it is! It’s ok to have fun with your kids. The problem is we think fun has to be a lie.
Santa Hinders Discipleship
One of my professors in college walked away from the faith for a season because he could no longer trust his parents after he found out they lied about Santa. “If they lied about Santa, they must have lied about Jesus” he said. The primary disciple makers of kids are mom and dad. Teaching a child the morals of Christ’s kingdom is an all-day, every-day task (Deut 6). God designed our faith to be passed down from parent to child. And the baton is being passed every day. What baton are we passing? What faith are our children going to receive?
I recently heard a twelve-year-old tell his friends “Christmas hasn’t been fun since I found out Santa is made up.” This isn’t the first time I’ve heard something like this. I doubt it will be the last. Children who were taught the Santa thing as kids usually land in one of two places after they learn the truth. Most incorporate the lie into their moral framework as they grow into adulthood. “My parents lied to me so I could have fun, therefore it’s ok to lie.” Or something along those lines. The other place they land is a complete distrust of parental authority. Children are supposed to honor their parents (Eph 6:1) and parents should not provoke their children (Eph 6:4). The Santa lie actively works against these commands.
Santa’s Story Isn’t Good
The legend of St. Nicolas is one of these treasures of church history. Most of the stories about him present Nicolas as a ninja of generosity secretly throwing gold into the homes of the poor. My favorite story involves him punching the heretic Arius in the nose after Arius said Jesus wasn’t eternally God. Anyways, we can say at the very least the man who inspired these stories probably cared for the glory of God and peace of God’s people. This is why I’ve labored to differentiate speaking of “St. Nick” who embodied the spirit of Christmas and “Santa Claus” who embodies a different spirit.
The modern story of Santa Claus uses the legend of St. Nicolas as a starting point but somehow ends at the North Pole with elves, reindeer, and god-like powers to watch little children. ‘Twas the Night before Christmas and numerous cartoons have added to the collective myth of Santa over the years. It’s hard to nail down a specific story because every parent tells the story differently. I’ve known many parents to just make things up on the fly. “Santa can fly around the world because he’s like Iron Man.” The modern story of Santa Claus is more like Frankenstein’s monster than great literature.
The Santa lie reveals that we give our children garbage for stories. Whatever Disney and YouTube throw at our kids, we let them consume. If the stories told in our home are like food, many Christian parents are feeding their kids four-square meals of cotton candy a day. Other Christian parents see this and think the solution is not to share any stories with their kids. These kids grow up scrawny and hungry, willing to devour the first story offered, usually by a liberal social studies teacher. Our kids need good stories. But most of us just give our kids a healthy dose of whatever the head honchos at Netflix and Disney decide. Call me crazy, since I don’t trust the cook who didn’t wash his hands in the bathroom to make me a burger, I also won’t trust anyone who can’t tell me what a woman is to write a story for my daughter. Children need good stories (the Chronicles of Narnia is a good start).
Make Christmas Joyful Again
Let’s say a Christmas miracle happened and I actually convinced you to leave the Santa thing behind. Now what? Are you supposed to exchange the fun Santa for the boring Jesus? No! You should exchange the fake Santa for the too-good-to-be-true-but-is-still-beyond-real Jesus. God became a crying baby. That crying baby grew up to into a man who carried all your sin up a mountain to crush it for all to see. That man endured Death’s harshest attack, and three day’s later, He gave Death a death blow. Jesus defeated Death and sin and created a new kingdom with the loudest singing, the best dancing, the tastiest wine, and the kindest people. He gave that kingdom for you, for us. If we can’t enjoy this joyful God on His birthday, then it’s not His fault. It’s ours. So, lean into Christ. Recite His story. Give good gifts because He gives better ones. Instead of elf on a shelf, work with your kids to give groceries secretly to a needy family in church like the real St. Nick would have! (As my wife and I have tried to make Christmas more about enjoying Christ, we’ve been helped by this book, this book, and this one if you’re interested.)
The solution to lies isn’t legalism. Avoiding Santa at all costs is weird and impractical. It also misses an opportunity for your child to learn wisdom. Your kids will watch things with Santa on TV. When she asks you if it’s real, don’t lie. But also, don’t destroy her imagination either. God doesn’t send fat men in red suits to give people gifts. He surprises them with angels instead (Heb 13:2). The solution to Santa isn’t legalism, but to simply walk by faith. The problem with faith is that it’s different than made up rules or no rules. Faith requires you to die to yourself, the hard part, but it also results in a resurrected life, the worthwhile part. Let Christmas be a time where your faith is put on display for your family instead of hidden behind a fat man in a red suit.