No matter what the legend or history of Santa Claus, one thing is for certain: millions embrace his story and wait in hopeful expectation for his yearly arrival. I don't think it's a coincidence that Santa is revered and anticipated during one of the holiest of Christian holidays--when yet another story, often called "the greatest ever told", engenders hope and wonderment in humanity.
Perhaps Santa is seen as a more desirable substitute as a Father-God figure. Many people cannot reconcile the vengeful and capricious God of the Old Testament who plays favorites and spurns his people to war with the gentle, kind, and wise Jesus who said "a new law I give unto you"--one of love and compassion. Jesus is almost portrayed as the kinder, gentler, more updated version of Jehovah.
However, while some have no trouble embracing Jesus in a manger and the message of "Peace on Earth, goodwill towards men", it still percolates in the back of the mind that Jesus comes from, and works for, the jealous, angry God of the Old Testament.
Santa and God: The Parallels
- The longing to be understood Santa sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake--he knows if you've been bad or good, where you live, and even what you want for Christmas! The scriptural parallel is "every hair on your head is numbered"--God knows your name.
- Divine justice In the Christimas legend, he good people get gifts, the bad do not. (Well, they get coal in their stocking, anyway.) A much better deal than go to hell, do not pass heaven, do not collect $200...
- Tangibility Santa can be tracked on the meteorologist's radar, makes visits to the mall, and has an address--he lives at the North Pole and you can write to him! Plus, he eats the cookies you leave out for him, and the carrots left for the reindeer are gone in the morning, too. A biblical correlation is "His name shall be called Emmanuel, which means God is with us."
- Egalatarian Santa brings gifts to all children, of all ethnicities, no matter what the cultural holiday customs. Romans 2:11 says "There is no favoritism with God."
- Joyfulness Santa loves children, giving gifts, and spreading joy. Nehemiah 8:10 says "The joy of the Lord is your strength."
If there are so many parallels, why do most opt for Santa--and not God the Father? Well, in the Santa stories there are no tales of a Santa gone bad, terrorizing children and threatening them to an eternal hell with the Heat Miser. (Of course, the story by Dean Koontz doesn't count.) Santa doesn't love the children of North America (or Israel) any more than the other children around the world. And Santa is jolly, for goodness sake! He's not sitting around in a war room strategizing which heathen tribe gets blown away next. Nor is he making deals with the devil to see how much one human can take, or writing up stringent dietary, social, and spiritual laws with which to bind humanity.
While Santa, even if unconsciously, is substituted as a God-the-Father figure, there still lies a Babe in the manger Whose message and life is, unfortunately, oft ignored and "thrown out with the bath water"--largely because of guilt by association. After all, isn't He His Father's Son?
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