Heart Choices: Who Is Santa Claus? -->

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Who Is Santa Claus?


Who is Santa Claus? Is he a made up character to entertain children? Or was he a real person?

I just watched the remake of the movie "Miracle on 34th Street" for the upteenth time. Each time I view it, I find myself smiling just like a little kid! If you've never had the opportunity to watch it ...I highly recommend it. Kris Kringle is on trial. He claims that he's really Santa Claus but he doesn't have evidence. You must have faith to believe.

I began to think about Santa. I remember as a child getting so excited about Christmas. I wanted to be sure that I was good so I would get presents under the tree.

My dad dressed up as Santa Claus and he sure fooled me. This is an old black and white picture and the little girl is me and Santa is my dad. Little did I know!

But I was also taught that Christmas was the day we celebrated Jesus' birth.

So, how do you reconcile Santa Claus and Jesus?

I have a book called "The Adventure of Christmas". It was written by Lisa Whelchel for moms to help them teach their children about Christmas. It really focuses on helping the children find Jesus in those traditions.

Since I learn best as a child, I unpack this book every year and reread it. I mentioned it in a previous blog post. I'm glad that one of the chapters Lisa covers is about Santa Claus.

Lisa told the true story of a young man name Nicholas who lived about the time of the third century in what is now modern day Turkey. He loved God very much. His family was quite wealthy and when Nicholas received his inheritance, he began to give it away to the poor and needy people. He would often give the gifts secretly and ...he especially enjoyed giving to children.

You'll have to read the rest of the story for yourself, but hundreds of years later, Nicholas was declared Saint Nicholas. It was pronounced Sinter Klaas by the Dutch. Another word used to refer to him was Kris Kringle which comes from the Dutch word 'Christkinkl', meaning "Christ child". The name was originally created to help refocus people's attention on Jesus ...who is the true gift giver.


So, what does Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas and Kris Kringle tell us? Although Nicholas gave gifts, God is the best gift giver of all.

God has such a loving giving heart that He chose to send His only Son into this world to save us.

Jesus is the real gift of Christmas. But in order to receive this gift, we must choose to appropriate it for ourselves. Otherwise, it's just another gift we hear about but never experience for ourselves.

May you experience the true meaning of Christmas this year!
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Debbie Petras
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5 comments:

  1. What a wonderful book. I wish I had had it to read to my kids and wish it had been read to me. Love the picture of you and Santa. That is so neat. I like those little Elf yourself dances too. I posted one of Hubby and me doing that same dance on my Dolls blog.
    Have a very Merry Christmas.
    Charlotte

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  2. A blessed CHRISTmas to you, Debra!!

    And yes, even though I was raised with Jesus as the reason for CHRISTmas, we also have fun with Santa Claus, too!!

    I think the key is to set the mood--Jesus as the Savior--born to us so that we may see God in the flesh and learn to live and love as He has taught us. Jesus was a wonderful giver of gifts--sight to blind, healing to the lame, peace to the possessed.

    Santa Claus also gives gifts--a fantasy that has grown out of a true story. We were never given gifts out of proportion with what could be afforded, and our Christmases were usually small. I still continue this today with my adult children.

    For me, Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas--celebrating His birth. Santa Claus is a lot of fun when my children were young, and I wouldn't have missed for the world either.

    Beth

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  3. Great balance speaking truth! Thanks for sharing!

    Merry Christmas!

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  4. Merry Christmas Debbie to you and your family.

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  5. In Australia it is fun to say that Santa Claus wears shorts and rides a surfboard...lol - his sleigh is also pulled by flying kangaroos...lol.

    You'll find that everything about Christmas has a meaning that relates to Jesus Christ. They are like modern day parables to help people understand the miracle of Christmas.

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I love to read your comments! I know you have something to share so join in the conversation. And thank you for taking the time.

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