Why I Loathe the Concept of Santa Claus

1. It robs Jesus of the glory due to Him on the day that we choose to celebrate His birth

2. It dishonors the memory of the man who Santa Claus is based upon

3. It is a desperate attempt by the world (and the ruler of this world) to remove Christ from this holiday because they hate him.

4. It centers a child’s mind on receiving gifts instead of remembering the gift that was given.

1. It robs Jesus of the glory due to Him on the day that we choose to celebrate His birth- I carefully included the word “choose” because as most surely know, we are never commanded to celebrate the Lord’s birth. In fact, celebrating on December 25 actually has pagan origins. My point, however, is that if we are going to pick a date upon which we celebrate Jesus’s birth should we not actually celebrate Him on that day?

2. It dishonors the memory of the man who Santa Claus is based upon- The concept of Santa Claus has its origins in a man named Nicholas of Myra. Though there is not a lot known about him, what we do know seems to show a godly man. He was present at the Council of Nicaea which convened to oppose the Arian heresy (Jesus and the Holy Spirit are created beings). He apparently was so incensed by Arius’s arrogance that he reportedly slapped him in the face. He was also well known for his generosity. He is said to have given dowry’s to three young girls who were about to be sold into prostitution by their father so that the father could find them husbands. There is more to what makes up the Santa that we know today but I will leave that up to you to discover. What matters is that certainly this God fearing man would be deeply troubled by what his memory has become. I know that I would never want any part in becoming a mythical figure like Santa Claus who is so intertwined with the day we celebrate Christ’s birth, perhaps that is just me though.

3. It is a desperate attempt by the world (and the ruler of this world) to remove Christ from this holiday because they hate him-Those outside of Christ are at enmity with God, they are at war with Him and so, quite naturally, they have no desire to celebrate the birth of His Son. They do, however, like presents, days off, and even gift giving and so they wish to celebrate Christmas without actually celebrating Christ. Sadly, Christians go right along with it.

4. It centers a child’s mind on receiving gifts instead of remembering the gift that was given- Christmas at its core is not about receiving gifts but rather about the giving of the greatest gift of all time, Jesus Christ. Giving gifts on Christmas is by no means bad or evil but it must be kept in a proper perspective. We give gifts because God gave us the gift of His Son who bought our salvation. I know that I certainly did not have this mindset when I was a child. All I knew was that I could not wait for Santa to come and bring me my awesome presents. It would be hard enough to get this concept across to a child if there was no idea of Santa in their heads. Adding him into the mix does nothing but make it even more difficult.

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