Some people think Santa Claus is anti-Christian, a replacement for Christ, a distraction from the birth of Jesus, the real reason for this precious and celebrated season. The truth is, I am a Christian. The truth is, I am an American. So can a Christian involve Santa in their Christmas celebration?

I'm not sure there is anything more "American" than an all-out shopping extravaganza based around a universal Christmas celebration. That's our culture. I'm pretty sure that God didn't envision pine trees in living rooms, stockings hanging on fireplaces, or songs about grandma getting hit by a reindeer when He envisioned celebrating the birth of Christ. BUT, I do believe, wholeheartedly, that He does believe in a huge celebration based around the birth of his Son. So, whatever that may look like all over this country, whoever may be honoring Jesus by making Him the focus of Christmas morning, whoever may not yet grasp the depth of this Savior-gift, whoever just thinks Santa is a cool thing to buy into or this is a great time to have time off of work and to spoil kids with presents for the heck of it, well . . . what better day than the day we, Christ-following, Bible-believing, firsthand Changed and Delivered, ever-Aware, imperfect Believers,  set aside to celebrate the birth of Christ?? What better day!!

There's a serious element here; there's a fad that insists Happy Holidays override Merry Christmas. To me, these are simply attempts to circumvent faith. Do they affect me? Truly, no. On occasion, I avoid a place that has publicly announced their firm decision to embrace Happy Holidays and throw out Merry Christmas, but honestly, should that surprise me? Should it offend me? If I truly know the story, understand the Bible, and realize the way this whole thing unfolds, then I have a firm grasp on the fact that the world, as a whole, is not going to embrace the birth of Christ. This serves as the best reason of all to continue to proclaim the Truth of God's Plan, His Presence, His Grace, His Forgiveness, and His Real Penetrate-able Peace. The more, the merrier (pun totally intended). Truly though, an eternity without Christ is no small matter. As it so frequently floats around, it is so very tempting to contemplate, what if . . . what if Jesus was the son of God? What if God created this world and provided His son as a means to restore humanity, and the key to restoration was wholehearted belief? What if that belief led to a life free from guilt and a new understanding of what restoration could mean? What if it's all true? Well, it would mean everything. It would mean that God is real, and the Bible was inspired, every bit of it, by God himself, and heaven is near, and heaven isn't for nonbelievers. It would mean everything. Die without it, regret. Die with it, rejoice. 

I know, as a Follower of Christ, that many around me do not believe, and I'm not living in a country that is being run by God-fearing men. Therefore, I know that the world and culture that exist all around me will not be encouraging me in my walk with Christ, nor will it be anything for me to model my life after.  In fact, it surprises me when Christians are shocked and offended by things going on around us. Why would we expect anything else? No, really. Why would we expect anything different? When people don't know the Lord personally, why would we expect anything different? When we realize the way the Lord has impacted our lives, changed our hearts, given us direction and purpose, and become our overall guide, why, why-oh-why, would we expect people without Him to guide them to strive to live according to His ways? It is hard enough for us who learn about His ways on a regular basis to try to live accordingly. So, friends, why criticize the ones who don't know? Why even fight that battle? The battle is the heart. The One who changes the heart and softens a soul is the Holy Spirit. So, I pray. I pray for many to come to know what I have come to know. I pray my babies understand this whole thing. I pray they choose Christ for themselves because of His undeniable presence. I pray that the experiences I expose them to and the way He ministers to us forever stick to their souls and shape their hearts.

We can take parts of our American culture and cherish them. Who doesn't love history? We can take other parts and challenge them; it's ok to insist that freedom of religion remain a foundational part of this nation.  I will probably always look at other parts of this culture and truly be saddened, scared, and disappointed that my children live in a place where they see unnecessary pain and evils. However, in the midst of all of this, I will continue to remind myself that the Bible does not tell me to expect this world to be Biblical; the Bible tells me I shouldn't conform to the world around me. The Bible doesn't tell me to find my peace in my nation; the Bible tells me God is Peace and that Peace can fill us, and I've felt it many times. The Bible doesn't tell me to expect to find faith-filled giants around every corner; the Bible tells me that we need to gather with believers to praise God, to encourage one another, pray with one another, fellowship, and learn the ways of the Lord, and so we gather together because we will otherwise be in the midst of many who cannot teach us what they do not know.

The truth is most Americans plop up a Christmas tree, fill it with sparkling lights, add all sorts of ornaments and either entertain the idea of Santa Claus, don't entertain the idea of Santa Claus, blend the culture of the tree and Santa with their faith, just celebrate the birth of Christ, celebrate the birth of Jesus and despise Santa, or forego the event altogether. As a Christian before an American, I celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. As an American, I'm totally aware that the whole Santa experience is a cultural event, an embraced tradition that is unavoidable. Should it be a part of Christmas? There are many parts of this American culture that infiltrate our lives. Can you do Santa and Jesus? I've read some pretty passionate articles on one side or the other. For me, I will say this: my children know that we all receive gifts on Christmas Day because we celebrate the very most important gift that's ever been given, baby Jesus. If you ask them whose birthday it is today, they'll tell you Jesus' as though it's a no-brainer. As a momma of five kids from 1 to 13 years old, I know that Santa is all around, unavoidable. So, if my kids hear about Santa and imagine that he came down our chimney, am I heartbroken? A bad mom? Nope. Not one bit. In fact, I expect that this idea will come into their little minds as they see some show, watch an advertisement, go to the mall, see pictures, hear classmates talking. What I've discovered is that when your daily life, your eating and praying and waking and sleeping all revolve around the name of Jesus, your faith wins. As a momma, I would say that I can't extract my kids from a culture that tells them Santa is coming (well, I can try, but I'd rather not live in a bomb shelter). It will probably happen. Why freak out? Really. My oldest two at thirteen and ten both know that Santa isn't real. Our oldest always told us, even at five, that the feasibility of Santa getting to all time zones in 24 hours was impossible. There's our realist for you. And the others, well, somewhere between two and six or seven, I find the idea is in their minds (although we aren't openly encouraging a big old Santa idea). So, for me, my experience has taught me that the kids realize on their own that Santa's a gimmick, some never buy into it, others do for a bit, and none - I repeat none - ever wonder why we are celebrating Christmas. It's not because this is the designated day Santa is coming; it's because it's the designated day we set aside to celebrate the one and only birth of Jesus. Unquestionable.

Now relax, there are some of you who are ready to retaliate because you take this Santa thing very seriously (Some of you still believe he's coming down the chimney and others of you are fully aware that his name does share letters with . . .). For you, this may be a battle worth your time and a cause worth fighting for. For me, when I stand firm against our culture, it's just not this. Why? Because my kids readily response, always have, to one simple explanation, which they eventually get on this matter too: because some people don't know Jesus (so they make up Santa) (so they kill) (so they make bad decisions) (so they don't know how to love) (so they don't pray). That's how this house rolls. Don't get all worked up; if it were something pressing that came into the mind of my little three or six year old, why then, we'd handle it sooner. :)

Should Christians celebrate Santa? Well, if you're a Christian and you're NOT celebrating the birth of Jesus, I would say there would be a real discussion to be had.

Pursuing the Purpose of the Season!
Emily, the confessed Christmas movie junkie! 

Don't you just love their faces in the morning!