The Problem With Santa

The magical bubble of Santa has been popped. As a child this happened to me on the playground when a neighborhood boy mocked my belief in Jolly Old Saint Nick. I was ten. As an adult this happened just the other day when my husband and I were told by a Church authority that by introducing Santa into the lives of our children, we are choosing to lie to them.

Well, that is just one opinion. One that I asked for no less. One that we take to heart. Thank goodness the Catholic Church is a body of work representing the body of Christ. To find some peace on earth within my own heart on this matter, I pondered the reasons why we will introduce Santa to our children.

1) Tradition

Our family tradition was to attend Mass on Christmas Eve at a missionary center in our town. The Priests and Brothers offered music, food, and revelry to their guests. We would enjoy the festivities and load up on food and punch. Our bellies full, my older sister and I would curl up on one of the center's couches by the window and look up in anticipation of seeing Santa. Even if we could not see him, we both heard the bells of his sleigh. On our drive home, my father intentionally drove past impressive light displays. We would sing Silent Night until we parked. Our parents started the night off by putting the celebration of the Eucharist first and foremost and ended the night by tucking us in a warm bed. We weren't allowed to touch any presents without getting on our knees and thanking the Good Lord first. The pile under the tree was always modest but the celebration was so rich.

2) Two Truths and a Lie

Saint Nicholas did actually exist. Christmas is Jesus' birthday. Santa Claus is the reason for the season. Hmmm...easy one.

We will teach our children about Saint Nicholas, the patron of children, a Saint who served the poor. We will revere the birth of Christ with the celebration of Mass. Our gift giving will be simple. We will sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and enjoy His birthday cake. We will link St. Nicholas to Santa Claus and share that he is a helper of Jesus who wants to share gifts with the world on His birthday and Santa is just the guy to do it.

3) Imagination

Santa can be a foretaste of Heaven. The joy and excitement in my heart when Christmas Eve arrived helped to stir up the big questions. Who are we and why are we here to have the gift of such a holiday? A holiday that requires boys and girls to be on their best behavior in order to get gifts. Well, isn't that true of us as children of God to reach the gift of eternal life?

My husband brings to Christmas similar experiences. We are looking to strike a healthy balance for our own family. We will chop down and decorate a tree. The evergreen tree is a symbol of everlasting life. We will eat candy. What letter does the candy cane resemble? We will be easy on ourselves when grumpiness rears its ugly head. We have Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to reassure us. When the temptation of envy confronts us, and we see and hear about the extravagant gifts purchased for family, friends, and our children's peers, we can look to George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life to remind us how blessed we really are. When it is quiet and we are singing our children to sleep, we can think of how the soul felt its worth in O Holy Night. We find it extreme to extract Santa Claus from the mix. Come to think of it, there is no problem with Santa...at all.

Merry Christmas!