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Santa Claus: Saint, sinner or something more?

It's Christmas again. Hark! The sound of bells a jingling and strains of "Santa Claus is coming to town" drift sweetly through the festive atmosphere of the season. Each home is adorned with charming Christmas trees, under which lie the colourfully wrapped presents which everyone has waited all year round for. Children of course yearn for Christmas morning itself, when their most prized presents will appear, courtesy of Santa Claus himself. A walk through the town will quickly reveal the heart of Christmas, the proverbial "spirit of giving". Shops display attractive gift items, perfect for loved ones. Santa is of course a prominent figure in the display, inviting onlookers not to remain merely onlookers, but to get involved in the sea son's joy by obtaining suitable gift items for friends and family members.

The media does its part, too. Television features many films and programmes depicting the Christmas message. A quick glance through the TV Guide shows the extent of the media's support: "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus", "The night they saved Christmas", "Jingle Bell Rap", "Christmas comes to Pacland", "Claymation Xmas Celebration", "Xmas in New York", "The Christmas that almost wasn't", "A Klondike Christmas", "Pink Christmas", and even our very own local production "Krismas Ho Ho Ho"; all of which, if they do not directly depict the story of Santa Claus, at least employ the imagery of his costume and spirit. Yes, Christmas has indeed come, and everyone is enjoying themselves.

But wait a minute. Aren't we forgetting something, or to be more precise ... someone?

Christmas. What IS Christmas? If you recall, it is supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Christ Jesus into this world, almost 2000 years ago. "Christmas" actually means "Christ's Mass", in others words Christmas is meant to be a religious celebration in honour of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But in the midst of a Christmas celebration in the 1990's, where in the world IS Jesus? To the average uninformed person, Christmas must surely be a celebration in honour of that wonderful old man, Santa Claus.

Who IS Santa Claus? Who dares steal the limelight from the Light of the World? (In John 8:12 and John 9:6 Jesus says clearly, "I am the Light of the World, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness"). The Bible has something very interesting to say on this point. The prophet Isaiah records in Isaiah 14:12-14,

It has always been Satan's desire to covet the worship and honour which is God's alone. This deepest need of Satan's comes across most clearly in his temptation of Jesus in the desert, recorded in Matthew Chapter 4. It is no mere accident that the final "carrot" Satan dangled before the Lord Jesus came with the condition that Jesus bow down and worship him (Matthew 4:9). Jesus fitting rebuke was that only God is worthy of our worship (Matthew 4:10).

Having been foiled, Satan obviously has had to recourse to other means of stealing the glory due to God alone. The proposal put forth in this paper is a very simple one: take a closer look at Santa Claus, and decide for yourself if he be Saint, Sinner or Something More.

Let us take a closer look at some of the hype surrounding this age old and well-loved legend. Santa Claus's ancestry goes back on the one hand to the Norse Yule gods, on the other to St Nicholas, a fourth century bishop of Myra about whom little is known but many stories are told. His association with Christmas stems from his patronage of children and unmarried girls. He was given charge of children following his miraculous restoration to life of three boys slaughtered by a village innkeeper and preserved in a barrel of brine. St Nicholas said a prayer over the tub and then converted the innkeeper to be on the safe side. His protection of unmarried girls follows an incident where he secretly provided dowries for the three daughters of a poor nobleman. One of the bags of gold which he supposedly threw through the window came to rest in a stocking hung up to dry, though another version has it that he dropped the gold down the chimney and it landed in a stocking or a shoe. Either way, several Christmas traditions were born. The rumour that St Nicholas rides across the roofs to pay his visits may derive from the story of the gift-bringing Norse goddess Freya who drove through the air in a chariot drawn by cats. The final transformation of the saintly and just Bishop of Myra, even handedly rewarding good and punishing evil, into the chortling and commercial Father Christmas of today was begun by Dr Clement Clarke Moore on the night of 23 December 1822, a professor of Hebrew and Greek literature in New York. Moore's St Nicholas incorporated gift-bringer legends from all over Europe. Before long, the spirit of Santa was being evoked to assist in the commercial success of almost every product. Children were encouraged to write to Santa with their Christmas present list and post office centers were set up to deal with the flood of mail. So many department stores employed Santas to boost sales that a college was set up to train them! (The origin of the Santa legends quoted in this paragraph are taken from "A Celebration of Christmas" by Gillian Cooke, published by Queen Anne Press, Macdonald Futura Publishers, London).

In and of itself, although the story of the original Saint Nicholas might be a questionable one, it nonetheless may have remained of limited liability. But what happened later? The legend was built up, to such an extent that today, Santa Claus IS Christmas.

Is it a coincidence that the very name "Saint Nicholas" was the one chosen around which to build this legend? Is it a coincidence that the devil himself is commonly known as "Old Nick"? Or what about the play with words often encountered in today's modern carols of Christmas? Songs of "Saint Nick". Say that to yourself aloud, quickly, several times over .... "Saint Nick, Saint Nick, Saint Nick, Saint Nick ..." Sound like anything familiar? Try "Satanic"! Or what about the name Santa? Is it mere coincidence that the word "Santa" changes into "Satan" by the mere shifting of the alphabet "n" from the center to the end of the word? How about Santa Claus? Another little play with words produces the very interesting "Satans Clau" or spelt slightly differently, "Satan's Claw". Is it a coincidence that the devil is often depicted cloven hoofed? What's in a name after all? A quick glance through the Bible seems to show that names are not mere labels affixed to their bearers for want of a better means of identification - names ARE significant, they indicate something of the character of the bearer (for further study).

Moving from his name to himself. Who is this fat, jolly man dressed in red, riding around across the skies in a sleigh pulled by red-nosed reindeer, ringing jingling bells and rollicking "Ho Ho Ho!" ? Let us examine his personal characteristics one by one.

Santa is always portrayed as a wonderful, presumably old, jolly gentleman. Why "presumably"? Simply because no one really knows whether he is old or not. And why is that? Because the real person is hidden away beneath a mass of facial hair. Yes, the bushy beard and moustache effectively camouflage Santa's identity. Contrast that with God's simple statement, "I Am Who I Am" (Ex 3:14). No tricks here. God is always as He is, He does not disguise Himself nor pretend to be someone or something else in order that we may be able to better accept Him. He presents Himself as He is, and it is entirely up to us as to whether or not we want to accept Him. Contrast this with Santa. Of course there is no one individual who claims to be Santa in the flesh. Instead, anyone may choose to dress themselves up as Santa, as the words of a song in one of the recent films shown on TV about Santa Claus goes, "I am a split personality. I am who I am and I appear to be to whom ever wants me what they want me to be." Santa knows no cultural or individualistic prejudice. Absolutely anyone may choose to be him to help spread Christmas cheer. But the "anyone" must of course play by the rules, wear the Santa disguise, and naturally, do not deny that you really are Santa in the flesh. This angel of light, the bringer of good cheer, has a striking parallel in Scripture, "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14). "Masquerade" is indeed an appropriate word, for what else is Santa if not a large scale masquerade? And how else does he masquerade, but as an "angel of light", a typecast "good guy"?

Still focusing on his appearance. Why is Santa portrayed as an obese old gentleman, and why is he always dressed in red and white, why the tassel in his cap and the big black boots? And is not Santa the main perpetrator of the (false) idea that all fat people are necessarily jolly and harmless and all thin ones mean and humorless? And why red? A warning sign? ("Red" usually indicates "danger, "warning" or "stop", as used in traffic signals and other similar signals). Is he advertising himself in so obvious a manner that we will have no excuse for being taken in on the excuse, "How should I have known?" It's interesting to note that even his famed reindeer, Rudolf, has a red, not a green or a white, nose (further study needed).

According to legend, Santa always comes at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve. No one may see him, he slips through the chimney, with the fire out, naturally, failing which he enters through the back door. Many western households practise the custom of leaving him milk and cookies, just in case he gets hungry while on his rounds. And while no one may see him enter or leave, one is often alerted of his newly departed presence by his resounding "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and the jingling of sleigh bells as he rides away into the night sky.

Let's take a closer look at this legend, point by point. Now, why is it that Santa must necessarily travel by night? Who is the Prince of Darkness? (Contrast this with The Light of the World). And why does he fly about in the sky? Recall the Prince of the Powers of the Air, Ephesians 2:2). As for entering furtively through the chimney or the back door, consider Jesus' words in John 10:1, "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter by the front door but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber." Jesus Himself always stands at the door and knocks! (Revelation 3:20).

The custom of leaving milk and cookies suspiciously reminds one of the Chinese custom of leaving sweets for their so-called kitchen god; a sort of "peace offering" to the deity in return for a favourable report on members of the household. While families may not consciously do this with Santa Claus, one must admit that the parallel does seem to exist.

If one watches cartoons on television or in the cinema, one would be aware that the villain in these cartoons is nearly always typified by a characteristic laugh, be it a snicker, a sinister cackle, a hysterical mania or merely an insidious smirk. Whichever the guise, the characteristic remains, the "evil one" is always marked out by his laugh. Is it a surprise then that Santa, too, possesses a characteristic laugh? One may argue that Santa's "Ho! Ho! Ho!" hardly qualifies to be in the same category as Dame Cruella's maniacal screech, but nonetheless a characteristic laugh is a characteristic laugh. More so when one may not see the owner of the laugh, but merely hear him in the distance as he leaves, affirming that he has been there, unseen.

And what about the jingle of sleigh bells as his team of reindeer pull out into the night sky, alerting householders that Santa has been there and is now on his way? Bells are of course an integral part of Hindu and New Age worship, but even more significant is this quotation from the prophet Ezekiel (Chapter 28:12-13);

It would seem then, that Lucifer was not only Chief Musician in heaven, He WAS AN INSTRUMENT himself! At any rate, he certainly was associated with music, and with bells. One wonders if Santa's use of ever jingling bells is indeed a coincidence.

As for Santa's legendary visit to every household on the stroke of midnight, how could that be achieved, unless we also acknowledge his seeming omnipresence? Another trait possessed only by God Himself, and here we have Santa Claus claiming the very same powers (remember Isaiah's report of Satan's words, "I will make myself like the Most High" in Isaiah 14:14b?)

Another interesting feature of his annual visit is the prerequisite of putting out the fire in the fireplace. Naturally, this would have to be done for him to get through the chimney without singing his whiskers, but then one could argue, why use the chimney in the first place? On any other night, fires would burn through the night, especially so seeing that in the northern hemisphere Christmas Day falls in the midwinter.

One then recalls that in the midst of the war between Aram and Israel, Elisha comforted his terrified servant by asking the Lord to open the servant's eyes that he might see the Lord's protection about them. Scripture record that when his eyes were opened, he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding them. (2 Kings 6:17). The Lord's Own Presence was symbolized by a pillar of fire by night as the Israelites marched out in the Exodus (Exodus 13:21-22). It would not seem unduly bizarre then to interpret this symbolic putting out of the fire in the fireplace as a sign of permission from the householders that whomever wishes may enter, none are hedged out, even those whom otherwise the Lord Himself might have hedged out. (In other words, an invitation to Satan alias Santa to come in).

Before the reader jumps to the conclusion that the writer is by now paranoid, the writer should like to remind the reader that only well-known legends and facts are presented with the writer's suggested interpretation. It is up to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions from the information presented, agreeing or disagreeing to the aforesaid interpretations.

But back to Santa's peculiar traits. Ever wondered about the custom of leaving a stocking hanging by the fireplace or by the foot of beds? Why a stocking? Why not a basket or an empty box instead? I would here only like to point out this interesting phrase from Ephesians 4:27, "..do not give the devil a foothold."

But let us leave the symbolism of his persona. Why, we all know that Santa is only a legend for the children, don't we? No one actually believes in all that stuff anyway, so why bother?

Why bother? ..... Precisely because it IS our children who are Santa's prime targets. We smilingly go along with his game, for their sakes we think. After all, what harm could it possibly do? And it gives them a little fun, something to treasure.

This line of thinking has a number of flaws. One is that it's "all just a little fun". Now why need we to go to Santa to bring about this so-called Christmas spirit? Why can't we go to The One Whose birthday it is actually supposed to be? In other words, why not direct the little ones straight to Jesus? After all it was Him who said, "Suffer not the little ones to come unto Me" (Mark 10:14). My suggestion is that this deflection of the true focus of Christmas is a deliberate one and we should NOT be a party to this grand scheme.

Another major flaw, and one which may be far more dangerous than we realize is the thought that believing in Santa is harmless. I suggest the contrary, belief in Santa Claus is extremely harmful and a direct threat to one's later ability to believe in God through Jesus Christ. Why do I say that?

Examining this Santa hype a little, one quickly discovers that in order to "qualify" for Santa's gifts, one has to be a "good boy" or a "good girl". Children are encouraged to write to Santa describing their good works and why they deserve their presents, as well as what presents they would like. A good-bad list mentality is deliberately cultivated. Songs like "Santa Claus is coming to town" describe this phenomenon very well. Children compete with each other to "win their prizes" so to speak. It doesn't matter that the spirit behind the good behaviour is actually one motivated by greed for more toys, etc. What matters is that they are taught to think of reasons why they deserve to be rewarded. (Incidentally, children are taught not to try to lie to Santa, because he will know whether or not they are telling the truth. It looks like Santa is also claiming omniscience!)

Now this is in direct opposition to God's idea of salvation as a free gift of God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. I find it ironic that Satan chooses Christmas as the season for his "salvation by good works" theory, when Christmas is actually about God's FREE, UNEARNED GIFT, His Son Jesus Christ. I find this indoctrination very disturbing. It is a well known fact that many subconsciously learned behaviour patterns are embedded in childhood and very difficult to remove later on. The whole idea of Santa's grand scheme is to indoctrinate children, and thus indoctrinate all of humanity, with the idea that somehow, sometime, all the good we've done has got to be rewarded. We can somehow "earn" our own salvation. Is it then surprising that so many find it very hard or even impossible to understand this idea of salvation by grace through faith alone in the blood of Christ? It should not be in the light of Santa's busy and brilliant scheme of indoctrinating us while we are young.

So much for Santa's philosophy. What about what he actually stands for? How many of us are consciously aware of the fact that Santa Claus is in fact a money-spinner? He is, in a sense, the "mascot" of the Christmas season. Department stores and all sorts of stores NEED him in their promotional campaigns to lure customers to buy present for their loved ones. Whether or not the presents are in fact needed or of any use is beside the point. They play on the fact that each of us MUST buy something, anything, to give away, to show that we care.

But how many of us truly give intelligently or even sensitively for that matter? I'm sure you, the reader, will have at one time or another, perhaps more often than that, received gifts for which you have had no practical use at all, save to collect dust on your shelves. But why must there be this wastefulness of purchasing and giving unwanted presents? If not for Santa's persuasive propaganda that we need to give, to be a part of the spirit of giving associated with Christmas, how many of us would even think twice of buying something for someone else at this time of year? How many times have you, for that matter, thought of "what shall I give him/her this year? I've got $XX to spend. Oh just get anything!" The utility of the gift is not thought of, the usefulness of it to the giver seldom considered.... then why give in the first place? I am suggesting that we have all been easy prey of Santa and the commercial world.

Interestingly enough, but not surprisingly at all, love of money and love of God are considered mutually exclusive (Matthew 6:24).

Some may like to argue that the spirit of giving is a Christian one. I am suggesting otherwise. The so-called "spirit of giving" is a pseudo-Christian spirit, contrasted with the genuine Christian practise of sharing with all who have a need. Acts 2:44-45 exemplifies what is meant by this genuine Christian practise. In "sharing", the receiver's need is of topmost priority. In "giving" it is the giver's generosity that is emphasized. In "sharing" one shares all he has, even selling his own things if needed, in other words without holding back. In "giving", one gives out of one's abundance, a mere trifle compared with what one keeps for oneself. Sharing is done freely, and often anonymously. Giving by contrast is often accompanied by blaring announcements of the giver and his good intentions and gratitude is naturally expected from the receiver. Much so-called Christmas spirit is accompanied by grudging feelings of being obliged to give, but not really desiring to.

Taking an even more radical stand, one may even consider Christmas itself a pseudo-Christian celebration. After all, it is a well known fact that nobody actually knows exactly when Jesus was born, so perhaps it is not surprising after all that we are not truly celebrating his Incarnation every December 25th. Santa may feel himself well justified in taking Christ's place of honour each year as he knows the date is not the actual one of the Incarnation. December 25th was after all the feast of the Son God, Ra, in the ancient Roman Empire, adapted into the Christian calender when the Empire adopted Christianity as its state religion. I am not saying here that it is wrong to celebrate Jesus' birthday on an arbitrary date, I am merely pointing out the origin of the Christmas celebration and leaving the reader the right to think about it.

Written by: M Ang
Contributors: ER Tee, Joshua Lee JH, Tam CJ, Adelyn Siew AL

December 1992 (revised)
santa = 666?

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