For most Western people, Christmas means love. We connect Christmas with our families coming together to celebrate with good food, laughter and the physical representation of what some feel as love: the presents – all these pleasant memories we create during our lives shape a strong emotional bond with this holiday. But Christmas – that ‘Christian’ celebration we all learn to love, has a main character and that’s not Yahusha Ha'Mashiach / Jesus Christ.
Santa Claus is everywhere this time of year – especially shopping malls. Where did this myth come from and why is it so entangled in Western culture? Is it innocent fun for children or is there something darker we should consider?
The song ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ has the following lyrics:
He’s making a list, Checking it twice, Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping He knows when you’re awake He knows if you’ve been bad or good So be good for goodness sake
Santa Claus watches us all the time, it’s like he is everywhere, he also knows when we have been good or bad, sounds like we’re talking about God here, right? why are these attributed describing Mr. Claus?
Art Credit: Brian Donnelly
Most of the children in the Western world grow up in their early years learning about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and other things such as the tooth fairy. Parents not only teach about it, they actively engage in the fakery. They take their children to see Santa at the shopping mall, they teach their children also to leave cookies and milk and take their kid’s letters addressed ‘to the North Pole’ to the post office. Some even hire a Santa for their family parties (or uncle Benny can put his big belly to a good use).
It’s easy to fall for this, I get it... The excitement of watching the children waking up on Christmas morning and finding all presents by the tree, the happiness of unwrapping gifts and going outside to play with their new toys and show all their new possessions to their friends.
As these children grow up a little, it’s time for the parents to tell the truth (that is if they have not heard it at school yet) . The presents and the chocolate and the tooth money is all coming from the parents. ‘What about the cookies?’ They may ask. ‘we were the ones eating them’.
Santa Claus / Satan Claws: the most competent producer of atheists
The memory of ‘the conversation’ is something I remember very vividly. The reason I remember is because it was not a trivial conversation. It was a rapture and a profound disappointment. It was the moment my parents had to admit that they lied to me for years about a stupid thing. It was not a little lie that may escape, we're talking years engaging in something that was fake. Maybe for a grownup this will not be a big deal (by the time we become adults, how many lies did we have to endure?), but a child feels betrayed and ashamed.
‘I am not a stupid child anymore to believe in invisible things such as God’
Now if we go back to the ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ song, how would a parent who is a believer, after lying to his child about Santa Claus, be able to convince him/her that there is an invisible yet present heavenly Father watching our every step? GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!
The origin of the myth and what does Santa Claus mean
Santa Claus is directly connected to Paganism and the winter solstice. He represents Saturn, also known as the Dark Sun. In Scandinavian mythology, Saturn is represented by an old man called Odin, who had a white beard and lived in the North Pole (or the rupis Negra).
For more insights on the pagan roots of Christmas, you can check my post from last year.
Consumerism, nihilism and cult of the material world
Undoubtedly, Christmas and its ‘hero’ Satan Claws have been the biggest contributor to our culture of materialism. From an early age, we learn to ask for presents, to create an expectation that we will get those wishes and we put our faith in material love, instead of our Messiah. ‘If I am a good child, I will get my PlayStation’, ‘I got many presents, so Santa loves me more than my friend who only got two’. Connecting love and affection to presents and material compensation is a dangerous road that only leads to unfulfillment. If children are conditioned to put their faith in material things for affection, how are we to teach about the selfless submission to the Messiah's love?
With money you can buy a house, but not a home
With money you can buy a clock, but not time
With money you can buy a book, but not knowledge
With money you can buy a bed, but not rest
With money you can buy sex, but not love.
Don’t get me wrong, money is good and important. But consumerism and materialism makes us slaves of money. How are we to feel good about ourselves, how are we to distract our minds from the nothingness when we don’t have money if material things are more important than our connection to our Maker?
A final thought
Yahuah Tsevao’th is omnipotent, but there are three things He simply cannot do:
- Yahuah cannot change
- Yahuah cannot commit sin
- And Yahuah cannot LIE
When we lie, we become more like Satan and less like our Maker. By lying to our children, we are setting an example for those little humans who see us as their moral compass that lying is ok – and once learned, lying is a difficult habit to break.
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
Make no mistake; A lie will always break trust and besides, who likes to be fooled?
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