Keeping Christ in Christmas by Believing in Santa Claus

I’ve watched a lot of Christmas movies this year, and so many times someone says, “That’s what Christmas is all about,” but they’re wrong.  They say it’s all about family, friends, being together, giving, forgiving, sharing, etcetera.  That is not what Christmas is all about.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)  That’s what Christmas is all about.

For me, the most significant Christmas song I’ve listened to this year is “I Believe” by REO Speedwagon.  A little boy asks his dad if Santa is real, and the reply is, “I believe that anything is possible.  I believe in miracles, in the angels keeping watch, in innocence that is never lost.  I believe in Santa Claus.”  I talked in church earlier this year about believers in Christ and miracles.  We should not only believe in miracles, that anything is possible, .but we should expect miracles.  So maybe Santa is not just something for the children.  Maybe he’s not something that we should let go of as we get older.  Maybe we should come to understand that the excitement and joy he brings to children is what the mature believer should associate with Jesus Christ and the true meaning of Christmas.  

Could Santa Claus possibly be real?  Can one person know everyone by name and know if they are naughty or nice?  Can one person be everywhere in the world on one night and give everyone who believes what they most desire?  Can one person be powerful enough that having enough people believe in him creates a spirit of love and peace and goodwill to all men —enough to power a sleigh and reindeer to fly around the world?

Jesus Christ knows and loves each of us and is present all around the world constantly blessing all who have faith in him.  If enough people believe in him and live according to that faith, it can change the entire world and bring about innumerable miracles.  

At Christmastime we should use our stories and interactions with Santa to remind us of Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, a man who walked on water, fed thousands with a lunch made for a few, turned water into wine, made the blind see, the mute speak, the deaf hear and the lame walk.  Remember the man who suffered for our sins and then died so he could overcome death.  Remember that his spirit re-entered his body and to this day he still lives, immortal and glorified. 

Do you believe in Santa Claus?  Some say it’s too fantastic a story to believe in.  It’s impossible that his story is true.  Do you believe in Jesus Christ?  Some say his story is too impossible to be true.  I believe, because I have had so many proofs in my life in the form of miracles and spiritual experiences.  “I’ll tell you what I know.  I believe that anything is possible.  I believe in miracles, in angels keeping watch, in innocence that is never lost.  I believe in —“ Jesus Christ.  

And that is how you keep Christ in Christmas.

Why my Christmas Tree is a Holiday Tree

Sometimes I put my Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving, quite common in my old age actually, and I have left it up till Easter a couple of times.  I know there are people out there who find that offensive.  Why?  I would say because they do not understand the holidays involved, or perhaps they don’t understand the tree.

Anticipating Christmas before celebrating Thanksgiving does not diminish the November holiday, which became a national holiday when President Lincoln declared it a national day of “Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”  It instead gives focus to the day that is meant to be spent in prayer and worship.  I honestly don’t know anyone who really celebrates Thanksgiving the way it was meant to be.  It has become all about gathering, eating, watching and/or playing football. Many say what they are thankful for, but I don’t hear much talk about who they are thankful to.  I don’t see the outpouring of worship for that God who has given us everything. But I’m okay with that.  Just as I don’t fault people their celebrations of Christmas that have nothing to do with Christ, I don’t want to spoil the fun of those celebrating Thanksgiving without giving praise to our Heavenly Father.  I am no better than anyone else in that regard.  My Thanksgiving is quite secular.  However, celebrating Thanksgiving in anticipation of Christmas has turned my thoughts clearly and distinctly to that for which I am most thankful, my Savior.  There is nothing I am more thankful for than the plan of salvation which he has brought to pass through his atonement that overcame death and sin and offers me complete forgiveness and redemption.  And the centerpiece of that is his mortal life which began with what we celebrate at Christmas and ended with what we commemorate at Easter.

We use evergreens as Christmas trees to symbolize eternal life, the gift we are offered through the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, whose death and resurrection we remember at Easter, the gift for which we should give more thanks than for anything else.  Why then should we not have a beautiful, gloriously decorated evergreen tree as the centerpiece for each of those holidays?