Does Santa have place in a true Christians celebration of the birth of our Savior?? I believe he does!! I loved believing in Santa as a child, but I love it even more to be a Santa!!! What could you do better at Christmastime than to give to others anonymously without thought of return. Santa is a symbol of giving. Elder John A Widtsoe, a former general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said, "There are men who object to Santa Claus , because he does not exist! Such men need spectacles to see that Santa Claus is a symbol; a symbol of the love and joy of Christmas and the Christmas spirit. In the land of my birth there was no Santa Claus, but a little goat was shoved into the room, carrying with it a basket of Christmas toys and gifts. The goat of itself counted for nothing but the Christmas spirit, which it symbolized, counted for a tremendous lot,"
In our family, Santa would bring one gift for each child. When we felt they were old enough, we let them be Santa! On Christmas Eve we read the Christmas story, sang Christmas hymns and acted out the Nativity and read from Saint Luke. When the children were really little we had birthday cake for the baby Jesus. We wanted to make sure they knew that we were indeed celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. On Christmas morning, before we opened presents we always turned over the baby Jesus on the Advent Calendar first!!
We also do secret acts of kindness for others, such as a 12 day of Christmas and we go caroling to those who are lonely. We try to find someone we know who needs cheering up. I always come away from that experience feeling up lifted.
In my mind, the picture above says a lot. When we become Santa, we are only worshiping the Savior.
What do you think about Santa Claus? What have you done as a family to help bring the true meaning of Christmas into your home?
