I recently posted in a public forum why we do not teach our children to believe in Santa Claus. I quickly got some response defending why they teach their children about Santa. Tradition was even brought into it, to which I say we are not supposed to be bothered with tradition.
Did I believe in Santa growing up? Yes, I grew up believing in Santa and I didn't grow up mad that my parents lied to me all those years.
However, we have chosen not to teach our children that Santa is real. Over the years we have taught them to be courteous to those that teach their children this to avoid offence.
People can get REALLY touchy when it comes to Santa. One year one of my boys blurted out that there wasn't any Santa, he was five at the time, and a family member said that was his opinion and he needed to keep it to himself. I was a little upset with them that they put so much stock in Santa that my child was left not to voice what he believed because she was afraid her daughter would stop believing the fantasy.
Honestly, you do in your home what you wish, however I have just one problem with the whole Santa thing. It's not real!
I had a lady one time tell me that she taught her kids about Santa to teach them about Faith. I was mortified! So you teach your children that there is a real Santa, when there isn't, to teach them to believe in a real God, which there is? How does that work? I imagine there have been children that have stopped believing in God because they found out that their parents had lied to them all these years about Santa. Maybe not that many, but the point is, why lie to your children to teach them about faith? How is that teaching them faith? Faith in a lie?
Many atheist believe that Christians believe in a lie. That our faith is in a fantasy. We know that's not true, but teaching our children faith through Santa is not the best way to teach faith. If you want to teach your children faith, then teach them to pray and believe God for the things that they need. Help them to understand that even though we may not get everything we want that God will supply our needs and does still heal the sick.
My children have learned what true faith is. How is that? We have taught them to trust the Lord to supply needs and He has. We have taught them to trust the Lord for healing, and He has brought it. They have seen God do some mighty works. We didn't need to teach them about Santa to teach them about faith.
A couple other things about Santa that are interesting.
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
Um, we teach our children that God is omnipresent and all knowing. If we teach our children that Santa is all of the above, then it looks like we are teaching them that Santa is right up there with God.
How about the fact that Santa can be all over the world in one night?
Or that they send him letters to tell him what they want?
Something about that bothers me. The Bible says to make our request known to God. Not Santa. We are treating Santa like a god if we teach our children these things! I mean if you really look at what we say Santa can do, we tell our children that God does the same things.
The Bible is clear that there are to be no other gods before God. I realize that is in the Old Testament and all of us under grace are no longer under the law, but tell me does it make it right?
I Timothy 2:5 - "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"
If there is only one God, then why teach our children that Santa can do everything God can do? Let teach them about God and that the blessings they get at Christmas come from Him!
What about St Nicholas? Saint Nicholas was a man that gave to the poor and needy, not to spoiled kids who asked him for toys and games they really didn't need anyway. If you really want to teach your children about Saint Nicholas, goes ahead but teach them to give to others. Find a way to give to others at Christmas and then tell them that the gifts they receive are not from some ficticious man that comes down a chimney to lavish them with their every wish. Tell them that God has blessed the family with the opportunity to get everyone a gift and that those gifts come from the Lord and their parents.
Have my kids missed out on anything? No. They are actually grateful that we didn't teach them that Santa was real. They have always believed that every gift they received was from God and that He had blessed their parents with the opportunity to give.
I do not condemn you if you teach your children about Santa. However, I do feel that if more parents would really look at the facts and similarities between Santa and God, they would stop teaching this and start teaching where our gifts truly come from. It's all about Christ!
So with this I say have a Merry CHRISTmas! Keep Christ in Christmas! Don't let satan keep our children from knowing and truly understanding the real meaning of Christmas, Christ's birth. The ultimate Christmas gift from God.
