Santa

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.  He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.  Alas!  How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!  It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias.

There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.  We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight.  The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.  Not believe in Santa Claus!  You might as well not believe in fairies!  You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?  Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus.  The most real things in the world are those that no children or men can see.  Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn?  Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there.  Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen or unseeable in the world……

No Santa Claus!  Thank God he lives, and he lives forever.  A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Francis Church (1897 editorial from the New York Sun)

Santa’s role in Christmas is controversial. There are those who say that the emphasis on Santa Claus detracts from the real meaning of Christmas. There are those who say that Santa Claus, a derivative figure of Saint Nicholas, is a charming personification of a benevolent giver.

There are those who say that having children believe in a mythical figure, only later to discover that he is not real, is a disservice to children.  Others counter that the concept of a loving and giving figure is a wholesome construct that children can learn from as a symbol of giving to others.

So, who would have thought that Santa Claus could be such a controversial figure?  Well, I can see Santa from both sides. As a cultural icon whom people can have fond feelings for, he fills the bill. As a mythical figure who must eventually disappoint children, well, he is a failure.

I think the idea of Santa is more appealing to adults than children. Parents want to have a way to make their children feel good and loved during the Christmas season. It harkens back to their own youth and wonderful, romantic and magical memories of an idyllic Christmas past.

The wonder of Santa Claus is indeed a look into a romanticized past. Adults enjoy Santa for years. Kids? Well after about age 8 or so, Santa is not a thing. I have no problem with letting children have a way of fantasizing an idyllic time during Christmas. Yes, it is incumbent upon parents to tell the real story of Christmas to their children. Jesus, after all, is “the reason for the season”. However, if kids want a little fantasy – as adults still do- I say let it be.

Prayer: Lord, we are grateful for the true reason for the season- the birth of Jesus and his incarnation, Amen