Poles Apart

Ambivalence—that sums up my feelings for years about Santa Claus. 

Like many Christians, I abhorred this obese man’s intrusion into our celebration of the Holy Birth. Parents use him as the symbol of gift giving and therefore, to many kids, this carricature in red is the personification of Christmas.  

On the other hand, I liked what it meant to children—if you’ve been good and nice, Santa will give you a gift/s on Christmas. A perfect example of what psychologists term as Operant Conditioning (carrot and stick).  

As I aged, travelling through valleys and dirt roads with faith in my heart, I came to realize that Santa and the Reason for the season are poles apart (or more like apples and oranges). In fact, there is no comparison whatsoever. God created all poles, the North Pole being just one of them. 

The red, rolly-polly character squeezes his cholesterol-laden heavy body into chimneys to deliver gifts. He diasappears after Christmas—to re-appear again the next year on the same date. 

On hindsight, I wish I hadn't dismissed Santa as a non-entity. I could have explained his cameo role in my young sons’ Christmases, for them to better ingest and digest the never-ending-never-sleeping Source of moment-by-moment grace, Who became flesh on Christmas, then only to wear a crown of thorns and die for us on the cross.    

Thankfully, as now adults, they celebrate Christmas for what it really is: the day the greatest Gift is given to all men, no matter what kind we mght be, whether we've been good or bad.