Mythological Creatures

When I was a child, Christmas was my favorite holiday. Each year I looked forward to looking under the tree to see what Santa brought me. For me, the holiday was all about Santa Claus, reindeer, and lots of presents and nothing about the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Until I was much older, I did not understand why people put up manger scenes and sing songs like "O Come All Ye Faithful". All of that stuff seemed like nonsense to me.

When I inquired as to the nature of, and facts concerning, Santa Claus, my father would always tell me "Santa Claus is a mythological creature". The reply that Santa was indeed some sort of "creature"confirmed his existence to my young mind, but because I had no clue what "mythological" meant, my father's reply was clever enough to avoid ruining Christmas while also telling me the truth that Santa was not real!

Though Santa was the main part of the Christmas tradition in my family, Santa will not be visiting my children -ever. In fact, none of the traditional mythological creatures will be "coming to see" our kids! My wife just posted a blog article about this topic on her Myspace Blog. Because she basically states my general feelings on the subject, I am going to save myself some time and post her article below instead of typing out my own:

"Here it is.... I can feel it. Another time of the year, that makes me and my family so different. Another season of the year of people thinking we are so peculiar. Not just worldly people, but also amongst other Christians. It happens around every Easter, Halloween, and Christmas.

Many people, already this season, have asked my 4 year old, Summer, "Is Santa coming to see you?". They all have had the same answer from her, "There is no such thing as Santa Claus!" Then Rhett and I get a disapproving glare from the
recipient. I'm sure many people know that Rhett and I are very unconventional in our child rearing, and you may wonder why we don't teach our children about Santa. There are many reasons, but here is my top 3...

#1 First and foremost, we do NOT lie to our children. Never, Ever! As Christians, we are to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, so being and example is part of that. We are not hypocrites, that teach our children not to lie, or that it is a sin to lie, yet, do it ourselves.

#2 Lying to my children might make their faith unstable. Lets say, I tell them of this man (Santa) who always watches them, knows if they are being "naughty or nice", and rewards them justly. Then one day, when they find out it is not true, he is not real... Do you think they will believe me of all I tell them about Jesus? Here is a scripture that warns us about causing a child to sin... "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." -Matthew 18:6 So, it is a very dangerous thing to mess with the faith of a child. (People prey on their great faith, for their own selfish reasons and delight. How much better it is to gain delight in knowing that your child's faith is in someone that's REAL.)

#3 We always want our children to be able to trust us. If you know your parents lie to you, do you trust them as much? If my children can't trust me in little things, will they trust me in bigger things? So many families have been torn apart because of lies, deceit, distrust, etc. With so much of that in the world today, I don't want it in my own home. My children will know that they can count on whatever Mom and Dad says. And I hope that they will in turn, give us the same respect.

One day, Rhett and I will give an account for how we raised our children. Not you. Or anyone else. The handbook we try to raise our children by is the Holy Bible. It seems odd to me that people are respected when they choose not to teach their children about Jesus, yet you are looked at as cruel to not teach them of Santa".

I encourage all Christians to re-think the traditional "mythological creatures" that so often trump Christ as the so-called "reason for the season". Most see no harm in it and think I'm crazy for the stance I have taken. It may all be fun and games -and I know traditions are hard to break- but how much better would it be if we all placed the sole focus on Jesus Christ and did not allow His glory to be shared with any other creature? I think we need to address these issues in our own homes before we get upset over whether or not the clerks at the Wal*Mart are required to say "merry Christmas" or "happy holidays"...

UPDATE 12/15/06:

Just to help illustrate my point, I want to quote a comment that my wife recently received on her Myspace blog from a family member:

"I can't speak for anyone else but you can be sure that you will never get anything like a 'disapproving glare' from me. You and Rhett have full say in how you raise your children and everyone Else's opinion should just roll off your backs. I fully support a Christmas without the jolly all knowing fat guy. I can clearly remember what it was like coming to the conclusion that my parents had been lying to me(easter bunny, tooth fairy and santa) and for a time it did have an impact on how much I trusted my Mom and Dad".