Tag: Holidays

How should Christian parents handle “Santa Claus?”

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Somehow, parenting has become more complicated over the past 40 years. When I was a child, Christmas was simple. We enjoyed a huge dinner with extended family on Christmas Eve, exchanged presents, chatted and played card games or dominoes, then went to bed.

My grandfather always slept in the same room as us kids, vowing to help us “stay up and catch Santa Claus.” In reality, he was the lookout, the one responsible for making sure we were all asleep before the adults brought out the big toys brought to us by “Santa Claus.”

At some point early Christmas morning, I’d be awakened by a cousin or an adult who discovered, “Santa’s been here!”

It was fun. It was joyous. And, it was make-believe.

Later that week, we’d go to church to worship God and learn about Jesus.

It never occurred to me to question the fact that the same adults telling me about Santa were also telling me about Jesus. The thought never crossed my mind that “if the adults are perpetuating the Santa hoax, what if Jesus is a hoax as well?”

The thought never occurred to me because I never really bought into the Santa Claus myth.

Even as a grade-school student, I understood that the Santa legend was make-believe, and a fun way to celebrate Christmas, and that God was real.

I never believed in the mall Santas (and was actually somewhat bothered by them). I never actually expected to catch Santa in my house. (I was actually trying to catch the adults so I could say, “A-HA!”)

That’s a skill that I not only possessed, but that was very common in my generation. We seemed to have a knack for separating fantasy from reality, even if we preferred to indulge and live within the fantasy as much as possible.

This skillset, however, is not unique to my generation. I believe kids today are also highly capable. In fact, kids today are more likely to leave the fantasy at a younger age thanks to information available via YouTube and Google, which is at their fingertips as they play CandyCrush on Mom’s new iPhone.

You think they reached level 10, but they’re actually going down a rabbit hole of information on a 4th-century saint who cared for children.

Which brings me to the topic at hand… how should Christian parents handle the myth of Santa Claus?

I believe the best approach is to treat Santa Claus as a fantasy, while teaching kids the true meaning of Christmas.

It’s okay to indulge the fantasy with “Maybe Santa will bring you one,” or “Are you going to be on the naughty, or nice list?” and to sing songs like “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Just like my earlier post on Halloween, I will again advocate for letting the kids have fun and allowing childhood to be “magical.”

Childhood is under enough pressure as it is, with every political group and social organization trying to destroy it in the name of their cause without us taking away what little joy remains to satisfy our piety.

So, convince the kids to go to bed early so they can wake up to see what Santa brought. Leave milk and cookies out for him (because, you know… Dad), and act surprised and overjoyed when they discover their gifts on Christmas morning. Have fun. Make memories. Be warm and happy.

But… under no circumstance, should we let the meaning of the holiday be lost in that.

First, keep the reason for Christmas front and center, the birth of Christ, and the salvation He brought for all people. That’s the true gift of Christmas.

Secondly, teach the kids a little Christian history. There’s nothing wrong with them learning who Saint Nicholas really was. Their learning will help the transition from fantasy to reality, while maintaining a healthy sense of “play-pretend.”

Finally, when they question the reality of Santa, instead of trying to keep their faith in a mythical being that doesn’t exist, respond by telling them how much fun it was to indulge this fantasy.

It’s rare that the myth of Santa Claus is successfully used to destroy a young person’s faith in Christ. Still, by successfully navigating the balance of fantasy vs. reality, you can establish yourself not only as a great parent, but also as one who can be trusted for guidance, mentorship, and entertainment.

It’s Time for the Great Pumpkin!

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For some reason, I always identified with Charlie Brown. I always understood his plight. Nothing ever seemed to work out for him, and he always seemed to be laughed at.

Which is one reason why, when Halloween rolled around, I always enjoyed watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”

The show was whimsical and full of childhood experiences with ironic twists. In a time designed to scare people, it was just plain fun.

Which is what the Halloween holiday has become in our culture… just plain fun.

Kids dress up in costume and “play-pretend.” Sometimes, even adults dress up as well… not just for the children’s Halloween party later that day, but for work as well. Walk into any insurance office, and you may find Elsa from Frozen, the Wicked Witch of the West, or Morticia Adams.

The objective for the kids is simple… leverage your Halloween costume as best as possible for as much candy as possible. In the words of Sally from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, “Get while the gettin’s good.”

That will be the objective this evening, as a trunk or treat will be held in the parking lot of Spieker Stadium before tonight’s game between Hermleigh and Ira.

It may seem like good clean fun, but is it?

While the face paint is being applied, and costumes are being fitted, blogs and social media posts from various individuals and groups are criticizing Halloween as a satanic holiday and urging people not to participate, even in fall festivals and trunk or treats.

Are they correct?

To explore this, we’ll look to two sources. Bro. Ray Brooks, who served as president of Texas Baptist Institute-Seminary, and Romans 14.

It was approximately 21 years ago, on the morning following Halloween. Apparently, none of us had the nerve to celebrate the holiday around campus or in student housing. I vividly remember panicking when my classmate and next-door neighbor, Mike Gribble, caught me in the act of making a Jack-O-Lantern.

Mike, great man of God that he is, and gracious as he is, gave me a devotional about how the transformation of the pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern is similar to our transformation in Christ. Thus, I could now legitimately make a Jack-O-Lantern (my favorite activity of Halloween.)

Almost all of us were married with children, living in seminary-owned apartments and houses. Some of us stayed home. Some went to fall festivals hosted by our respective churches. Apparently, no one took their kids trick or treating around the neighborhood, and absolutely no one took their kids trick or treating to the president’s door.

He expressed his disappointment the following day in chapel, telling us to “let the kids have fun.”

The argument against Halloween centers on the holiday’s pagan roots. Yet, I don’t believe anyone can say with a straight face that a young girl dressed up as Princess Elsa, or a young boy dressed up as Chewbacca, are really trying to engage in spiritualism or the worship of the occult. And worshipping the occult and summoning satan is not something you do accidentally.

The holiday may have been rooted in the occult centuries ago, but the modern version centers around costumes, imagination, play-pretend, and candy. There’s no spiritualism to it. It’s just good plain fun.

If pagan roots are to deter us from celebrating holidays, then we have to wipe Christmas and Easter off the calendar as well. Both were created as the Catholic church co-opted pagan holidays and rebranded them as Christian in order to convert pagan tribes to Christianity.

But, when Christians celebrate Christmas, they’re not celebrating a pagan season. They’re celebrating the birth of Christ. When they celebrate Easter, they’re not celebrating a Norse god, but rather the resurrection of Christ. (The eggs and bunnies are just an excuse to eat more chocolate.)

While some have taken the step of refraining from celebrating Christmas and Easter, others understand that the holiday is what you make it, and meanings change over time.

Christmas may have started as a pagan holiday, but Christians made it their holiday, and Coca-Cola made it a retail holiday. The Christians I know center that day and the entire month on the birth of Christ.

Easter may have started out as a pagan holiday, but Christians made it their holiday, and Hershey, Mars and Nestle made it a chocolate holiday.

And Halloween may have been a pagan holiday, but Americans turned it into a chocolate and candy corn holiday.

Basically, what you celebrate is determined by what’s in your heart. Are you celebrating Christ, cola, new toys, debunked ancient gods, or chocolate?

In the case of Halloween, it’s chocolate.

Now, all of this sounds good, but where’s the scripture?

Romans 14:1-8 says, “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

In all truth, the context of these verses deal with the Old Testament Jewish feasts and festivals. Still, the concept remains. Some eat, some don’t. Some celebrate holidays, some don’t. The ones who eat, do so with thanksgiving and eat unto the Lord. The ones who don’t, refrain from eating in order to honor the Lord.

Those who celebrate holidays do so for the Lord. Those who don’t celebrate refrain for the Lord.

So, regardless of which camp we fall in, we belong to the Lord and we live for the Lord.

The point to Romans 14 is that we are to leave each other alone and allow each other to live for the Lord in a way that our conscience can be settled.

So, at Christmas, if you want to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, please do so with your whole heart. And if you’d rather not celebrate Christmas, then honor God with your non-observance.

At Easter, if you want to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, then do so and glorify God by proclaiming the Gospel. If you want to refrain from celebrating Easter, then honor God by regarding every Sunday as resurrection day.

And at Halloween, if you want to play dress-up and eat candy, have fun! For God never forbad fun. But, if you’re uncomfortable participating, then you are honoring God with your abstention.

But no matter what you do, recognize that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. That we are all honoring and living for God as best we know how, and that there are times that we need to step back and let God work the relationship between Himself and His people. Meanwhile, we keep our fellowship between each other.

But… one hill I will die on… unless you are a severe diabetic, chocolate is always appropriate.

May God bless you with a wonderful evening this evening, and a beautiful autumn weekend.