A story in this morning’s Guardian reminded us how important our Christmas traditions can be, and not only the religious ones. A parish priest in Hampshire in the UK told a group of primary school children that Santa Claus was not in fact real, that he didn’t exist.
And what happened was so sad. He was met with crying children, angry parents and claims that he had “ruined Christmas”. Of course there followed an unreserved apology to the school, the parents and the children, but the damage was done.
But it begs the question as to how we, the church, should talk about Father Christmas, and indeed the other stories and traditions that surround Christmas. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”, said Jesus in John 14:6, and if we believe in the value and richness of the life we have been given, it must be our duty to speak the truth honestly and kindly.
But on the other side, the myths we are brought up with and the stories that we tell one another are a vital part of the building and maintenance of an all-encompassing culture which binds us together as a nation, or as a religion, or in some cases as the human race.
When I was a child the account of Father Christmas was all part of what created the mystery of Christmas in my childish unformed brain. For me that seamlessly sowed the seeds of a faith that I could grow up into.
In some countries it is the Baby Jesus who brings presents. How does that work? In Spain it is the Three Kings. But who it is is less important. What matters is that our children grow up with a sense of mystery, a sense that there is something beyond, something more than what we see around us, and what we can rationalise about.
And for that I, for one, am delighted that Santa Claus is coming to town!
Read the Guardian story here.
Picture above: Santathon, Central London 2014