The Role of Santa Claus in Christmas, Part 1 (TMF:SE24)

Monday, December 18, 2017
Peace to Live By: The Role of Santa Claus in Christmas, Part 1 (TMF:SE24) - Daniel Litton
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       Nonetheless, by 1821, we read of Christmas being celebrated on December 24th and 25th, but it was meant to be sort of a children’s version of an adults Judgement Day. The point was to emphasize to children the importance of doing right in this life. If a child did right throughout the year, he or she would be rewarded by St. Nicholas. However, if the child did wrong, he or she would find a rod, or coal as we have changed it to, in the morning. This practice among children was supposed to remind them of, or make them aware, that what we do in our lives matters. So, St. Nicholas’, or Santa’s, job is important. Children learned that what really matters is eternity, and one would not want to find him or herself spending an eternity in Hell because he or she was living in the wrong way—out of a proper relationship with Christ. It happens that soon thereafter the judgment idea was removed from Santa Claus, and he would in fact only bring a “happy Christmas to all.”