Melinda just posted her Christmas Blog. I hope you like it!

Santa versus Jesus

Merry Christmas! I wrote a column for my church’s newletter so thought I’d post on my blog too.

“You better watch out! You better not cry! You better not pout! I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town,” begins the modern-day Christmas song. Santa Claus is an icon of American culture. He keeps track of all the good and bad little boys and girls. I confess I may have threatened my children once (or, possibly, twice) that Santa was watching them so they’d better behave “or Santa will give you coal for Christmas!” It was quite an effective child rearing tool, especially during the month of December.

Of course, most of us have told our children about Santa just as our parents told us. We’ve visited him or his helper at a local mall (or at Breakfast with Santa right here at STE), sent letters (or texts) to him with our personal lists. We have even received special gifts from him under our trees. I am also fairly certain none of you received (nor did your children receive) a lump a coal in lieu of the things that were on your lists, threats notwithstanding! As it is almost Christmas, I thought it might be interesting to compare and contrast Jesus, the Christmas Child, and Santa, the Christmas icon.

Christmas Fun

So in the spirit of Christmas and fun, let’s start with the simple things: clothing and looks. Santa Claus wears a red suit trimmed in fur, and is gray-headed with a white beard. We learned this from the animated Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie in 1964. Since Jesus started his ministry at age 30 and was crucified and buried at about 33 years of age, and even though he is often pictured with a beard, it is highly unlikely that his beard was white or his hair was gray. We also know the climate in Israel likely would not have supported a fur-trimmed outfit. That brings up another point: Jesus was from Nazareth and lived his whole life in ancient Israel. While the boundaries in the Middle East have changed, it is still a long way from the North Pole where everyone knows Santa lives.CONTINUE READING