Most people are rightly comfortable with reading stories and imaginary play when it comes to raising their children. My children love to play crocodiles, and after a game of crocodiles, I don’t need to sit my children down and have a serious talk explaining that I am not a real crocodile. They understand that we are playing, and that there is a difference between imaginary play and reality. We are completely free to choose whether to include Santa in our Christmas traditions, but our main priority should not be prancing around declaring our freedom nor judging those who think differently from us. Our main goal should be to love others; to consider their good and think about how to help them make their own godly and upright choices. We are free to choose, but is our choice going to cause friction and grief or love and unity? Stop Worrying about Santa and Play Jesus Instead Who are you teaching your children to believe in, Jesus . . . or Santa? The Santa Claus thing is the greatest hoax of all times! Just think about it, the devil made this switch right under our noses, and we didn’t even realize it. And, it was done so long ago that we’ve been so saturated with this tradition we don’t even see that it’s the workings of Satan!

I suppose Revelation is a good place to end. No matter what you choose for your family, I hope you have peace choosing it in prayer and good conscience. As a final note, do your best not to judge others who do Santa differently. Each person is on their own journey and it’s up to God to guide. With the rise of the Elf on the Shelf has come increased leverage to control children’s behavior. Ever present is the lingering threat of losing out on “gifts” and having a sad and shame-filled Christmas day. DiscernmentThinking through and questioning things is an important part of development. Don’t fight the truth. Your parents who’ve told you no throughout the year are about to be overridden by Santa. Be good and he’ll give you what your stingy parents won’t. Of course, as mentioned above, these gifts are dependent on behavior. So they aren’t really gifts, but compensation.

You don’t believe Santa is worshipped? Try telling folks Santa is a fake. You’d get thrown out and ridiculed and HE ISN’T EVEN REAL! And you think people don’t worship him? Parents thought you’d committed the unpardonable sin by telling your kids he doesn’t exist. The Spirit of Christmas (a.k.a South Park The Un-Aired Plot of 1995), is actually the second instalment of South Park Christmas shorts, with 1992 The Spirit of Christmas: Mr.Frost being the pioneer. And if you are looking for an original South Park short with what every fan loves most about, you shouldn't miss this one. And here is why: Not only does the current Santa paradigm undermine our authenticity and integrity, but it undermines it in our kids. I want to know my kids, really know them. And I want to talk about uncomfortable truths with them. AuthenticityI like the idea of Santa only giving small gifts leaving the good stuff to be from friends and family. I think it makes a better opportunity for gratitude. You can say or write thank you notes to people you know and see. Once you understand the deliberate way in which the myth of Santa Claus was created to be a direct counterfeit of Jesus Christ, you can see that children can be easily led spiritually astray by believing in, and participating in, this story. Keep them focused on Jesus Christ. Concluding Remarks Leaning into the Christmas season can provide us with many opportunities to share Jesus with our friends and community.

The current model of Santa bringing gifts is contrary to the very meaning of a gift. Merriam-Webster defines a gift as “something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation.”In response to your comment, I’m going to agree with you that of course the Lord would not want to take away any celebrations that He commands us to keep. These 7 feasts that you’re referring to are not the holidays that this article is talking about. These are the feasts days that pointed to Jesus.

a b Roberts, Michael. "The South Park Anniversary: The First Trey Parker-Matt Stone Interview". Westword. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017 . Retrieved 25 March 2014. One element of playing Santa that clearly clashes terribly with the Christian faith is the idea that Santa is always watching. Some stories about Santa elevate Santa to godlike status: he is all-knowing, all-seeing and he will make a list of who is naughty or nice.The Santa paradigm places all focus on the child, their wants, and their behavior. It encourages self-contentedness. The film can be found on the South Park The Hits: Volume 1 DVD. Short clips of both films are used in the original version of the series' theme song. If I go to great lengths to deceive my child in the name of “fun” what does that say about what I value most? What kind of example is it? Is having fun a good excuse for lying? You can stay vague – as I said in my post, I changed my approach over time. By downplaying Santa – the kids who I had let think what they want ( I didn’t tell them one way or another) weren’t at all upset. So don’t sell it at all on your end. Let your actions and words demonstrate that it’s not important. You get the idea, be dodgy. Respond with questions. Help them talk and work through it. Always have qualifiers like “maybe… it could be… I wonder if… “ Affirm Healthy Boundaries Encourage Their Discernment