The Biggest Lie Ever Sold — The Santa Claus Deception

THE BIGGEST LIE EVER SOLD

If you grew up in America, chances are, you believed in Santa Claus as a child, or knew someone who did. Around Christmas time in America, it is a rarity to go out in a public setting and not see some type of reference to Santa. Christmas just is not Christmas unless you take your children to get their picture taken with Santa, right? I mean, after all, it is all about the children having fun, right? Isn’t Santa Claus just some harmless joke we play on our children every year, and don’t the ends justify the means? These questions are some of the common defenses of keeping ol’ jolly Saint Nick around each year. Parents love to see their children filled with excitement and joy every year as they frantically rip off wrapping paper to see what gifts Santa brought them while they were sleeping. When one bases their judgment solely upon the criteria listed above, it would seem that the Santa Claus lie really is harmless, right? I say, emphatically say, that  NO  it is not harmless! The Santa Claus lie elevates Santa to a god-like level by attributing to him many of God’s attributes, it pulls attention away from Christ, and it can have the most tragic consequences on the minds of children imaginable. Consider this a warning: This very well could challenge your traditions, and I pray to God it does just that. Please at least take the time to review the information I have gathered, along with my personal reflections, before dismissing me as a hate-mongering fundamentalist (or whatever it may be that you are thinking I am lol).

***Before I continue, I want to say that I am not seeking to condemn those of you who participate in ‘Santa festivities’, nor am I trying to make you feel like a bad parent for having done so. I truly believe that many parents go along with this lie without even considering the implications because 1.) They went through the same experiences as a child and view it as a family/cultural tradition, 2.) They want to see their children happy, 3.) They truly do believe that it is just a harmless joke, and 4.) They see everyone else doing it and never take the time to question it. Basically what I’m saying is I do not believe parents have bad intentions in going along with the Santa Claus deception. However, one could make an argument (a twisted one at that) for Hitler having ‘good intentions’ in exterminating millions of Jews. He thought he was protecting the human race from degeneration and potential extinction, right? Good intentions do not always justify our actions.***

WHO IS WHO?

As a child, I remember driving all over Oklahoma every year to go celebrate Christmas with different members of the family. During the drive we would, obviously, listen to Christmas music. We all know the variety of ‘classic songs’ about Santa Claus, and I am sure we could probably sing most, word for word. But have you ever stopped and really analyzed the lyrics? Let us take a look at one of the most well-known songs about Santa, and, in my opinion, the one song that most accurately describes the attributes commonly attributed to Santa Claus. As we do, please keep an eye on the lyrics in bold font, as these will be the focus of our discussion.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

He’s making a list
And checking it twice;
He’s gonna find out
Who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

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!
Ohh! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town

How many of you silently sang along as you read these lyrics? LOL!… In all seriousness, these lyrics are no laughing matter from a Biblical perspective. These lyrics teach that Santa is all-knowing (or, omniscient), and that he is all-seeing/everywhere at the same time (or, omnipresent). How else could he, on a global scale, know who has been “bad or good” / “find out who’s naughty or nice”, and, “see you when you’re sleeping” / “know when you’re awake”? In addition, for Santa to be able to deliver presents to every house in the world all in one night (as the story goes), then he must be omnipresent, and, arguably, omnipotent. These are attributes that belong to Almighty God, and Him  alone!  If you were to describe the attributes of God and the attributes of Santa to a child, do you think he/she could distinguish between the two? Attributing the characteristics of God to Santa, combined with the fact that Santa supposedly “comes to town” on what is said to be Jesus’ birthday makes it quite difficult for a child to separate the two in his/her mind. (More on that later).

SECULARISM’S ATTACK ON CHRIST

     It seems that by the end of October the television/radio is already broadcasting Christmas advertisements. From a Christian’s viewpoint, we might consider this a good thing, right? I mean after all, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our beloved Savior. However, these advertisements are never about Jesus Christ (except on Christian networks… sometimes). It seems to me that these advertisements are always about consumerism, Santa Claus, and, well, more consumerism. The Blessed Redeemer of the world has been effectively kicked out of His own ‘birthday celebration’. (Well, Jesus wasn’t born December 25th, that date is actually based on a Roman/pagan holiday, but that is a whole other story.) Regardless, as Christians we declare Christmas to be a celebration of Christ’s birth, yet we do not see any mention of Christ in nearly all Christmas advertisements.

     The effects of secularism on Christmas are becoming increasingly dangerous. If a child does not have parents who guide him/her into a Biblical understanding of what Christmas is really about, the outcomes are tragic. This is illustrated in the fact that one survey in the UK found that 36% of children do not know whose birthday is celebrated on December 25th (DailyMail, 2011). The same survey found that 20% of the children surveyed thought that Christmas celebrations are in honor of Simon Cowell’s birthday (DailyMail, 2011). In addition, the survey found that 25% of the children believe Jesus was born at Buckingham Palace (DailyMail, 2011). To some, these answers may sound humorous at first thought. But are they really? Is it really funny that young children have these bizarre beliefs about the Messiah’s birthday celebration? To me, these statistics are actually very disheartening.

     But, then again, what should we expect when only 51% of Americans believe Christmas to be “more of a religious holiday” rather than a “cultural tradition” (PewResearchCenter, 2013). Only 39% of Americans ages 18-29 celebrate Christmas as a “religious holiday”, and only 54% of all Americans claim to “attend religious services on Christmas Eve or Day” (PewResearchCenter, 2013). Lastly, the survey found that 86% of Americans plan to buy gifts for others, while only 73% believe that Jesus was born of a virgin (PewResearchCenter, 2013). How sad is that??? I am getting offtrack slightly here; my goal is not to convince you of secularism having its way with people. However, I wanted to include these facts as means of showing that, for  many  people, Jesus is but one ‘aspect’ of Christmas, and not the sole “Reason for the season”, as He ought to be in the minds of believers. I would argue that, in the minds of most children in America, Santa Claus has a  MUCH  larger ‘role’ in Christmas than Jesus Christ does. Insomuch that I believe  many  children fall into idolatry with Santa Claus! I cannot prove that to be widespread, but I can share my childhood experiences, which was/is my motivation for writing this particular blog.

MY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE WITH SANTA CLAUS

     For much of my childhood, we were in church most Sundays (didn’t last long unfortunately). My time at Sunday School, combined with my mother’s storytelling, I knew, to a degree, who Jesus was. I knew He was and is God Almighty, and I knew He was omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. I had been taught these things my entire life. When my parents began telling me about Santa Claus, I remember having many questions because of his similarities with Jesus. I have always been a critical/deep thinker, and have always questioned things that I could not observe to be true. I do not remember the answers I received, but, whatever they were, they solidified my belief in Santa Claus. In the same way I was taught to have faith in Jesus (in the unseen), I was also taught to have faith in Santa Claus (the unseen). With every question I had answered, my ‘faith’ in Santa Claus grew stronger and stronger. Due to my childlike trust in my parents, along with having my skeptical questions answered, I soon had a dogmatic belief in Santa Claus. I remember sometimes confusing Santa Claus as being included in the Trinity, seriously! In addition, I remember praying  to Santa Claus around Christmas time, and begging  him to give me all of the best and most expensive toys I could think of. Santa was on my mind much, much more than Jesus was, despite the fact that I was taught regularly of the birth of Christ. My fleshly/earthly desires to have cool toys and video games, overrode the teachings of Christ that had been planted in my mind. I tell you this day, I believed in Santa Claus just as much  as I believed in Jesus Christ!

     This all came crashing down one Christmas morning when I was 8 or 9 years old. I remember it vividly. My little brother was opening up all of his gifts when I noticed a bad of toys that we had already owned (we weren’t wealthy growing up). I said, “Hey! Santa didn’t bring those! Those are my toys!”. My father, being the way he is, got angry with me and made me leave the room. To make a long story short, my parents ended up telling me the truth, after persistently trying to maintain their lie to no avail. Oh, and they made me promise not to tell my little brother, because it would “ruin the fun for him”. I remember having the worst feeling I had ever experienced in my life! I felt that I had been punched in the gut, stabbed in the back, and then spit on! How could my own parents lie to me for years and years??? How could they do that to me after I had given them all  of my trust??? I was devastated!!! But, the worse was yet to come…

     Soon after this, I began to rethink everything my parents had told me to believe without seeing, (i.e. Jesus Christ). I had intermingled my belief in Christ with my belief in Santa Claus to the point that, after my belief in Santa came crashing down, my belief in Christ has been severely damaged. No longer could I trust my parents. I felt that perhaps God was just ‘one of those things’ that parents taught their children in hopes of them being ‘good’. I thought that maybe God was ‘one of those things’ that we all went along with so the kids could ‘have fun’. The seed of doubt had been planted in my heart and mind, and it would remain as such for years and years. No question about it, the Santa Claus lie destroyed  my “childlike faith”. Not to mention, my relationship with my parents was severely damaged. I soon began acting out in school, and it would only get worse. Many people say there are no consequences for lying to children about Santa, but, for me, it ruined my entire childhood, and that is not an exaggeration. Lastly, I have no doubt that I was swept into idolatrous thoughts about Santa Claus. In my mind, he was a god. He was just as significant to me as Jesus was. What else could we expect from fallen, wretched sinners when we tell them some guy is going to bring them whatever presents they want?

CONCLUSION

So, were my parents purposely trying to cast doubts upon my belief in Christ? Absolutely not! Rather, they (well, my mom at least) spent much time attempting to teach me about Christ, and my dad was good at forcing my siblings and I to go to church. Thus, my parents had no desire to plant seeds of doubt in my mind. I have no doubt that my parents had good intentions, regardless of how misplaced they were. My parents were not ‘bad parents’ for teaching me about Santa. I know without a doubt that they loved/love me and my siblings with all of their being, and would never intentionally cause us harm. I believe this to be true with most parents who teach their children about Santa Claus. I believe most parents have harmless intentions, and, in their minds, are only wanting to make it more enjoyable for their children. However, I truly think the parents get more joy out of it than the children! I think the parents go along with the Santa Claus lie because  they  want to see their children be ‘surprised and happy’. But, is lying to your children about some god-like, mythical man in the sky the only way to see them surprised and happy? There are plenty of alternatives that are vastly superior to blatantly lying to children for the majority of their childhood. I will not attempt to convince you of any one alternative, but surely you can come up with something that does not include lying to your children. As believers, we should give Jesus Christ  all  of the attention on what we say to be His birthday celebration. Jesus should not be competing with Santa Claus in the minds of our children! Sure, it may allow you to see your children smile and laugh for a few minutes each year, but the potential consequences are drastically more significant. Why risk damaging your relationship with your children over something so petty? Why risk teaching your children that  some  lies are “okay”? Why risk damaging their faith? Is it really worth the risks? I hope I have illustrated the fact that the Santa Claus lie can and will have effects on the minds of children, and that it is  NOT  worth the risks. Regardless of the outcome, lying to your children for years and years will have effects on their minds when they find out. For some, they might be minor, but for others, they could be life-changing in a terrible way. Christmas provides a unique platform in which Christians can spread the story of Christ and His glorious Gospel of grace. It is an opportunity for believers to witness to unbelievers, because many unbelievers even celebrate Christmas. Rather than spending any of our time & energy on Santa Claus, let us strive to spend it  all  on sharing Christ with others, and glorifying His great name! Instead of making Christmas all about  US  let us make it  ALL  about  HIM! I pray this has been helpful in some way, and I hope you have found it to be written in a respectful and loving tone, as that was/is my intention. I want to reiterate that I am not accusing anyone of being ‘bad parents’ for teaching their children about Santa. Please do not interpret this as such. I do, however, hope this will, at the very least, lead you to reconsider teaching your children about Santa. Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria!

1 Corinthians 10:31

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Colossians 3:17

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

***I am well aware of the pagan/Romish origins of Santa Claus and Christmas (December 25th) in general. If you are not aware of this, I recommend doing some research on it as well. I chose not to speak on that aspect of Christmas because it could go on forever and ever. I understand many people do not celebrate Christmas because of this, which is totally fine. I celebrate the birth of Christ with family on Christmas Day (and every day), and I do not believe there to be anything wrong with that.***

SOURCES

(DailyMail, 2011) – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2076523/Christmas-meaning-lost-1-4-children-believe-25-December-Simon-Cowells-birthday.html

(PewResearchCenter, 2013) – http://www.pewforum.org/2013/12/18/celebrating-christmas-and-the-holidays-then-and-now/