A Christian's Perspective on Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a divisive issue among many Christians. Some Christians see Santa Claus as harmless fun for children. Some see him as a fabrication of Satan used to deceive little ones away from the truth. And still some say that while there is nothing wrong per se with having Santa Claus appear at a party and ask children about what they want for gifts, there should be clarification as to whether Santa Claus is real or not.

My view of this is that while children should recognize that Santa Claus is not a real character, there is nothing sinful about enjoying his depiction in cinema, literature, TV, or in any other area. There is also nothing sinful about dressing up as Santa Claus or inviting a fake Santa over to one's Christmas party or event.

But still, we must keep in mind that we ought to be telling the truth (Colossians 3:9), for if we lie, and if we don't clarify it, then kids might be deceived into thinking Santa Claus is real when he is not (though I will submit that there is room for debate among Christians as to whether letting kids believe in Santa is a deadly lie or not).

Having said that, however, we could do well by looking into how the Santa Claus stories came to be, that in fact they were ultimately based off a real person in a real setting.

Saint Nicholas: The "Original Santa Claus"

Many have noted that Santa Claus's possible origins might lie in the Greek bishop Saint Nicholas (270-343), who was the Bishop of Myra in Lycia. He was known for many things, including his famed miracles attributed to his intercessions, the most iconic trait of his was his secret gift-giving. Many have gone into further detail about his great acts and his childhood, so I will not do this here. But I will note his most famous act. A poor man had three daughters, and he lacked the proper dowry for a wedding. This would mean that due to their poverty, the daughters might resort to prostitution to receive money. So Nicholas saw this and wanted to help them. However, due to the fact that the poor man might be humiliated at the thought of receiving charity and that Nicholas didn't want to look like one drawing attention onto oneself (Matthew 6:1), he decided to give secretly (Matthew 6:3-4), and in the night he threw three purses of gold coins through the window of the house. There are many variations of this tale, but one thing remains clear: the secret charity of St. Nicholas was so memorable that later it influenced other depictions of Santa Claus either indirectly or directly.

How Did Santa Claus Come About?

But since we had the original St. Nicholas, why couldn't we have him? Why did we choose Santa Claus? The reason is a little bit complicated. Let us turn to Mark Driscoll and see how he explains this:

During the Reformation, however, Nicholas fell out of favor with Protestants, who did not approve of canonizing certain people as saints and venerating them with holidays. His holiday was not celebrated in any Protestant country except Holland, where his legend as Sinterklass lived on. In Germany, Martin Luther replaced him with the Christ child as the object of holiday celebration, or, in German, Christkindl. Over time, the celebration of the Christ child was simply pronounced Kris Kringle and oddly became just another name for Santa Claus.

And then again, the common tale of Santa Claus might have originated from folk tales from various cultures (some of which came from the legends of Saint Nicholas) that have been brought to America by Dutch immigrants. While there are commonly held legends, there is not one official interpretation of Santa Claus (though some could count L. Frank Baum's rendition of the Santa Claus story to be a definitive version of the American Santa Claus we all know and love). There are many varieties of this character, such as Father Christmas from England, Sinterklaas and other variations. However, these traditions all center around one jolly old man who brings joy throughout the Christmas season (or winter holidays).

What Should The Christian Think About All This?

I have given a historical perspective on St. Nicholas and Santa Claus, and now I will explore how Christians should react to it.

I said before that Christians should not be dishonest in dealing with this issue, especially when it comes to children. However, as long as Santa Claus does not replace Jesus Christ as the center of Christmas, there is nothing wrong with enjoying this tradition. And it would be helpful in telling the story of St. Nicholas and how it relates to Christianity and to Santa Claus.

The Worst Christmas Special Ever!

Doug Walker plays a guy named The Nostalgia Critic, a bitter, foulmouthed critic who looks at pop culture from his own youth and applies his criticism to them. He's very over-the-top and foul-mouthed in his humor (and he sometimes does jokes in bad taste), but I still love the guy because even if I wasn't as associated with American nostalgia as many are, I still enjoy his tearing apart of what is terrible about certain nostalgic memories that are typified in movies and television. His worldview can't exactly be called Christian, but his perspective is always interesting.

So why am I talking about him? I am going to embed the link to his review of what is considered the worst Christmas special ever: The Christmas Tree (1991). I haven't seen this special, and most probably haven't, but I will post this episode anyways.

So here it is. Enjoy. (Warning: Lots of foul language. Keep little kids away from this.)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, dear readers of Letter of Liberty!

The happiest time of the year, when we celebrate Christ's birth to this earth, is time for celebration, but it is also time for reading.

So here are some articles to jive with the Christmas spirit, both reflecting on theology and politics.

"The Virtue of Freedom" by Jacob G. Hornberger, December 1, 2013, The Future of Freedom Foundation
"The Economic Lessons of Bethlehem" by Lew Rockwell, December 25, 2013, LewRockwell.com
"The Cult of the Uniform" by Laurence M. Vance, December 25, 2013, LewRockwell.com
"Yes, Virginia, There Is No Santa Claus" by Richard Ebeling, December 25, 1990, The Future of Freedom Foundation
"Cancel Christmas, the Government Owns Your School" by Scott McPherson, December 27, 2002, The Future of Freedom Foundation
"A Christmas Meditation: The Resurrection of the Son of God at Christmas" by Kevin Shrum, December 25, 2013, The Christian Post
"God's Gift For You Under The Tree" by Dan Delzell, December 25, 2013, The Christian Post
"Morals and the Welfare State" by F. A. Harper, September 1, 2000, The Future of Freedom Foundation
"Charity: Biblical and Political" by Russell J. Clinchy, December 1, 1990, The Future of Freedom Foundation
"Christian Charity versus Government Welfare" by Thomas L. Johnson, December 1, 1994, The Future of Freedom Foundation
"Wishing You A Free And Merry Christmas" by Doug Bandow, December 1, 2000, The Future of Freedom Foundation
"Religion and Freedom" by Rev. Robert A. Sirico, December 1, 1993, The Future of Freedom Foundation

The Meaning of Christmas

This is my first post for "Theology Friday." In light of our current context, I decided to focus on the meaning of what Christmas is, and how it relates to the Gospel message.

Christmas. That words conjures up images of Christmas trees covered with red, white, tinsel and all the colors of the season, snow-covered houses, roast turkey or roast goose, mashed potatoes, various dessert pies and other delicious foods, family gatherings, scenes of the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger, family get-togethers that otherwise might not happen throughout the rest of the year, donations to the poor and needy, shoppers looking for the best deals for Christmas gifts (at least in our modern society), Christmas movies such as A Christmas Story, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, It's A Wonderful Life (and many others), Christmas specials, Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (which is brimming with modern-day Christmas archetypes), Santa Clause, Christmas stories, and all the other images.

But still, as much as we would like to associate these with Christmas (and many of us, including myself, do), these things are not the meaning of Christmas. I bet most people know this at heart but sometimes we seem to forget this amidst all the excitement (both justified and unjustified) of the season. The reason we Christians hold dear this season in our hearts is the reason that Christ was born to us, born in a lowly manger to a virgin (though not exactly on December 25th to be precise, but more on that in another post), born to save us from sin and death and restore eternal life and fellowship with God, the fellowship that was lost in the Garden of Eve when Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3).

Biblical and Historical Roots of Christmas

Before we can enter into the Christmas story, we should take a small history lesson first. After the return of the Jewish people (approx. 430 BC) from the seventy-year captivity in Babylon (which is covered in the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah), the Jewish people suffered captivity under several rulers, from the Persian Empire to the Greek Empire, as well as several rulers during the four-hundred year period of silence, and ultimately in 63 BC it fell under the iron hand of the Roman Empire after a long period of tension between Jews and Syrians. The Roman rulers appointed rulers to govern Judea and the Palestinian region, starting with Antipater and continuing with his son Herod the Great (which resulted in the Herodian dynasty). Instead of the priesthood descending from the line of Aaron, priests not of this line were exalted to the position, divided into the conservative Pharisees and liberal Sadducees. All these events caused bitterness amongst the Jews, resulting in revolts from the Zealots (which were crushed), and not only that, it emboldened in them a messianic fervor for a king from the line of King David that would crush the Roman Empire and restore the original monarchy that existed before the Babylonian captivity. In this context, we can look further into the birth of Jesus Christ and the meaning of the Christmas season.

The two books in the Bible that are most notable for covering the birth of Jesus Christ are the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

The story begins with a virgin by the name of Mary, who is betrothed to Joseph. Both are descendants of David king of Israel (the lineage is covered in Matthew 1), but they are not rich; they are average Israelites living in the town of Nazareth, for the Davidic monarchy was destroyed with the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Gabriel, an angel of The Lord appears to her, and he announces that God has chosen her to bear His Son Jesus Christ, who will save Israel and establish the eternal Kingdom of God (Luke 1:26-33). But Mary protests, saying that she had never been with a man, and she had been a virgin. The angel informs her: And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35 NKJV) When Joseph is informed of this matter, he has an internal conflict over what to do; being an honorable and godly man, he doesn't want to dishonor her, and he considers divorcing her quietly (Matthew 1:19). But then an angel of the Lord appears to him, reminding him of the true nature of the child Mary bears (Matthew 1:20-21). This is all done to fulfill the prophecy of old: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel." (Isaiah 7:14, NKJV) The sign of the place of his birth is a shining star.

It is not until an important event that this prophecy is fulfilled. Luke 2 describes a census being taken by Augustus Caesar, the Roman emperor during that time period. Every resident of the provinces ruled by the empire is to return to his birthplace and to the birthplace of his ancestors. Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem, the homeland of their ancestor David. But when they go to Bethlehem, the time of delivery is up, and they look for a place in an inn, but there is no place for them; so their only option is a stable. And the child is born in that humble manger, and Mary names him Jesus. 

Then the angel of the Lord appears to shepherds in the fields and announces the birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:8-14). So they go and see this child, and they understand what was told of and prophesied about this child. And Mary keeps those things and remembers them in her heart (Luke 2:19).

And there is more. After Jesus is born, wise men from the east (traditionally thought to be three) come to visit the baby, and they first come to King Herod (Matthew 2:1-2) and inform him of their purpose. Herod is troubled, for he sees the birth of a newborn king as a threat to his desire for power and rule. So he goes to the chief priests and scribes and inquires where this child is born. And they show him that it is in Bethlehem, quoting this prophecy from the book of Micah:

"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;For out of you shall come a RulerWho will shepherd My people Israel." (Micah 5:2, NKJV)

Herod calls the wise men in secret and asks them the location of the Star of Bethlehem, professing that he wants to worship this King also (Matthew 2:7-8). So they go and give the baby gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense, but later they are given divine warning not to return to Herod, and so they go back to their own city. And the angel of the Lord warns Joseph to take Mary and the child to Egypt (Matthew 2:13), since Herod plans on killing the child; so they leave for Egypt and stay there until the king dies. Seeing that the wise men failed to report to him, Herod calls for the massacre of baby boys two years and under (Matthew 2:16-18) in an attempt to prevent Jesus from accomplishing God's divine purpose, resulting in the now-infamous Massacre of the Innocents. But he failed in his plan to eliminate Jesus (and he also killed off a chunk of the Jewish population in the process). All these events show the providence of God and His divine intervention in the birth of Jesus, from which His whole ministry is born, from which salvation is brought for men. As Acts 4:12 says, "[F]or there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (NKJV)

His whole ministry is history, but it lives on in the hearts of those who love Him and believe in His name. That is the meaning of Christmas. And while we rightfully celebrate this season with all our best and our most beautiful, we must remember the reason why we do this: because of the birth of Jesus Christ to us in human form.