This post marks the beginning of a new section in my blog, entitled ‘Women of Faith’.  It is my intention to share with my female readers, some of the thoughts and feelings I have on different aspects of faith, church life and indeed Christianity as whole.  Any comments you have concerning the topics I write about are more than welcome.

In keeping with the seasonal time that we are currently enjoying, there are many issues around Christmas celebrations which cause many Christians to think carefully about the extent to which our festive traditions glorify the reason for the season -The Lord Jesus Christ.  Although we can all make metaphorical comparisons between the biblical Christmas Story and the modern way in which we celebrate (such as the giving of presents), it is evident that for a vast majority of people we can lose sight of the true meaning.  Very often I find myself guilty of this also.

However, this is my first Christmas as a parent.  This of course will add a new and wonderful aspect to the festive season, but it also raises a whole new range of questions and reflections on how we will portray the celebration of  The Saviour coming into the world, to our daughter.  Being just 3 months old, she won’t have any concept of the festivities this year, but God willing there will be many more years to come.  In the years ahead, we hope to show that there is just as much joy in giving, as receiving and that there is much deeper meaning to be taken from the exchanging of gifts.

My question today, raises the issue of Santa Is it biblically correct for us to lie to our children in telling them that there is a jolly man in a red suit, who is watching them all year round and knows when they are naughty or nice?  Should we allow our children to believe Santa is watching them and they can get more presents by behaving well?  I want to point out at this stage that I am not setting out a right or wrong answer to this question, as each parent has the right to teach their child according to their own biblical principles, I am merely setting out my own thoughts.

My problems with the ‘Santa’ ideal, are based on the foundations of what we ultimately should be teaching our children – The Gospel Message that Jesus Christ came into the world to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19V10).  The Lord Jesus Christ is at the center of the Gospel, we portray him to our children as a part of the Trinity or Godhead.  God IS actually the omnipresent person that we need to teach our children about.  Very often even young children in Sunday School are taught that God is perfect, he can do no sin, unlike mankind who are born and shapen in iniquity (sin). So when we teach our children that there is also another omnipresent ‘person’ called Santa who sees everything they do and judges them according to their behaviour, are we not making a mockery one of the main attributes of God?   Only God can be omnipresent.

So often in today’s society we read and hear of atheists who compare a belief in God to a belief in Santa or the Tooth Fairy.  But if we think about it from a child’s perspective, your child has a trust in you from a very early age.  They trust that what you tell them is the truth and they accept it. So just as we send them to Sunday School and encourage them to read their bibles and pray, we also tell them about Santa and his ability to visit all the children in the world in one night etc etc.  As the child gets older, they become more curious and naturally start to question everything they are taught.  This is a normal part of growing up and by asking questions they gain knowledge and understanding.  Biblically this is fantastic and we should enjoy sharing more of Gods word with our children.  But when it comes to the question of Santa, which is a lie to begin with, we have to tell more lies.  For example, “mummy, how does Santa get into the house if we don’t have chimney?”, to which we have to lie “we leave a key outside for Santa, honey.”  Or “daddy, how can reindeer fly?” to which we respond “Santa uses magic reindeer dust.”

There are many other strange questions that children come up with, but I’m sure you get the idea.  So one lie which is considered acceptable because of the social importance the world places on an imaginary person, turns into a web of lies.  When did breaking the ninth commandment (Exodus 20v16) to keep in with worldly ideal of Christmas become OK?  Surely this must be sending the message to our children that its acceptable to lie in some circumstances, so long as everyone else is doing it.  If you genuinely disagree with me based on biblical convictions, I would love for you to leave a comment to discuss this further.

I know there are many readers who have decided that I sound mean and nasty but I assure you this is not the case   As you can see from the photo Tamar has had her first visit to see Santa and we wouldn’t stop her from enjoying this experience, but we won’t tell her the lies which revolve around Santa.  Our daughter will receive Christmas presents and will look forward to this time of year the same as every other child, but I do not believe that we have to deceive her into feeling this way.  My concern would be that if we taught our child that Santa really exists and then one day break the news that he isn’t and it was all lie, it may cast doubt on her believing us when we teach her about another man who she also has never met, The Saviour Of The World.