Saturday Ramblins, Vol. 1, No. 27 (December 24, 1998)

Recently I received an angry e-mail from a friend of mine in Arizona. She has a Christian web page in which she'd created a section to celebrate the Christmas season. Along with links to the true meaning of Christmas, she'd included references and links to Santa Claus.

The web-master of a Christian web-ring she belongs to her e-mailed her that she was being removed from the ring because Santa is contradictory to what a real Christian should be thinking this time of year. Well, that web-master is entitled to his or her opinion, but is fostering a belief in Santa contradictory to being a good Christian? At best, is it (as the writer of the e-mail to my friend noted) a means of teaching our children it's okay to life? I, for one, don't think so.

Used properly with children, Santa embodies the spirit of giving. Okay, a Furby is not in a class with salvation (and from what I hear, salvation is easier to obtain than that particularly elusive Christmas toy). This season celebrates the gift of love beginning with God's love for his people. He gave us his Son. The Son gave us the road to salvation. The Magi brought gifts to the babe in the manger. We give gifts to each other.

If we remember where this started and teach our children about the spirit of giving, then Santa becomes much more than a jolly old man in a red suit. He becomes the essence of sharing ourselves and a means for gratefulness for all God has given us.

And what about the so-called "lie" we perpetrate on our children? I, for one, would not have robbed my children of the magic of Christmas to offset the risk of their disappointment. My grown children and I still talk about Santa. It does my heart good to see a little far-away look come in their eyes at the mention of his name, as if there were still some deep belief that he does exist. In the spirit of giving and charity I tried to instill in them, I believe he does.

Most of us survived the truth during our growing up years. Our children and grandchildren will survive it as well. Santa is not so much a person as he is the collective consciousness of a Christian people who believe in the gift of sharing. It is also a gift of magic to our children - the kind of magic Jon writes about elsewhere in these pages today. It is as the editor of The Sun said of Santa in his now famous reply to young Virginia O'Hanlon in 1897, "Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

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