A man in the Seattle area nailed Santa to a cross as a sign of protest against the commercialism of Christmas. In his words, “Santa died for your Mastercard.” Needless to say his neighbors weren’t too fond of the display.
I mentioned yesterday that we try to incorporate advent and the Bible story into our Christmas so our kids know it is about more than presents. We also took our kids shopping to buy presents to put in a “shoebox” which is wrapped up and given to needy kids around the world.
Still I feel like the holiday is weighted towards the presents. We open one present on Christmas Eve, and the rest on Christmas morning. And, we do have a Santa tradition in our house.
How do you celebrate Christmas? Do you feel like the holiday is over commercialized? What do you think of Santa on a cross? What do you think of Santa?
December 26, 2007 at 6:50 am
Well, this has been my first Christmas where I haven;t been really sure about Jesus at all, so it’s been a little weird in general trying to put it in some kind of larger context.
May 29, 2008 at 6:52 am
This is too confusing and tramatic for children. There is a better way to teach them about the meaning of Christ’s birth and His reason for coming to earth to offer us salvation.
Should we also teach them that the same letters in Santa’s name can be spelled as Satan and illustrate that both sometimes wear red suits? I don’t think the Lord objects to the giving of gifts and the joy that Christmas brings to children. (Putting the Easter Bunny on the cross might be more appropriate than mixing the Holidays, however) Personally I have better sense than to pervert the sacred things of the Savior.