Now that I think about it, you do have to believe to receive.Tons of free drawings to color in our collection of printable coloring pages!Ĭhildrens will certainly like our various themes such as superheroes, cartoons, animation movies, video games, characters (princess, knight, pirate, robot. Christmas is about receiving this presence into our homes and into our hearts. The active and constant presence of God in our lives at every moment. Because the wonder of Christmas morning isn’t about presents. I want them to ask what it’s all about, so that I can help guide them to a deeper, fuller truth about Christmas. But the goal is not to sustain belief in Santa for as long as possible. It’s good for Christians to believe in Santa – up to a point. A teeny, tiny inkling of a beginning of a concept. Santa’s gifts are to the incarnation as a three-leaf clover is to the Trinity. But Santa Claus is only a symbol, and an incomplete one at best. Perhaps this is why many adults never really move past the Santa thing. It’s easier to understand a jolly man in a red suit flying around with reindeer than it is to understand God’s infinite, aching, love for humanity. This is when we celebrate the Word becoming flesh, and that is a miraculous, mystical thing. The spirit of Christmas is about one thing above all else: the mystery of the incarnation. In a lovely essay for America Magazine, Katie PreJean McGrady defended belief in Santa, writing: It’s a joy that takes you outside yourself. It’s pure, uncomplicated, unrivaled awe and joy. And the wonder children experience finding these gifts under the tree is the same wonder the shepherds felt upon finding the infant Jesus in the manger. They are not earned through being good, but rather given freely through a divine love which we could never, ever, earn ourselves. Christmas gifts, like all of life’s gifts, come from God. And why shouldn’t she? It’s the truth, after all. “You really use those words?” I asked, incredulous. “Santa Claus brings us these gifts as a symbol of Christ’s incarnation.” I did a double-take. “I tell my children that the gifts are from Jesus,” she said. But one friend gave a piece of advice that stopped me in my tracks. Some tell their children that Santa is fictional, that he’s the spirit of Christmas, or that he’s Saint Nicholas. Very few of them do the “traditional” Santa story – be good and you’ll get presents. Recently, I polled a group of Catholic friends about what they told their children about Santa Claus.
Santa Claus and The Miracle of the Incarnation Fortunately for my family, wiser and gentler Christians have considered this problem before, and have come up with solutions. Most importantly, how do I distinguish between God (whom I believe in) and Santa (who is a fairy tale)? There’s no guarantee that my children will grow up to have my faith, but I should at least be honest with them while teaching it. Nor does teaching them that being good will bring material prizes. Systematically lying to my future children doesn’t feel like a great idea. As an adult, I’ve tolerated Santa for the most part, but I’ve become increasingly concerned about his place in the Christmas tradition.
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