Thank you for your very kind greetings on this very special season when we all take time to celebrate the birth of our lord Jesus Christ. It is also the very special time when we remember to give thanks for all the good things that we were able to enjoy and all the good people that have shared our lives during the last year. As I have told you before, this indeed is the true meaning of Christmas, and that all the dazzling lights, the shopping, the gift-giving and the commercialization of the season, should bear no relationship to its real importance to each and every one of us.
I have noted your concern about the over exploitation of “Santa Claus” and its effect on all the children around you. While I agree with you about the “exploitation”, I am sorry that you feel so strongly that “the whole story of Santa Claus is but a myth made up to impress children at Christmas time, and reinforced by society for economic reasons, with very little attention to the birth and life of Jesus Christ”. Although I cannot really disagree with your comment, allow me to qualify it with my own observation that in all matters of living, nothing is strictly black and white and at all times we must never ignore other people’s opinions as well as other possible options.
More than 100 years ago, Francis P. Church, a newspaper correspondent, wrote a beautiful editorial in the New York Sun in response to a question from his eleven year old daughter. Entitled “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus,” he explained in a simple and eloquent way the reason for believing in the existance of Santa Claus. Here is a part of what he wrote:
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life at its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight and the eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”
I am sure you will agree with me that these beautiful words do indeed make a strong and compelling case for children to believe in Santa Claus and his special place in their hearts and minds. Notice however, it does not in anyway negate the real purpose of this blessed season, to honor and give thanks to the Almighty for the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. The real problem lies in the fact that people are so busy buying gifts, writing cards, organising menus and planning for the upcoming celebrations that they inevitably lose track of the real meaning of Christmas. They even make up stories of a “Jolly Old Man” living somewhere near the north pole who is making plans to deliver presents to all the world’s children, in the hope of somehow impressing them of the truth of the myth. Over the centuries, Society, in its increasing drive to commercialization, has gradually shifted its focus from one of celebrating and thanking God for the gift of his son, to one of celebrating a tradition of giving and receiving gifts and eating, drinking and merry making, with little thought of Jesus, his message and his import.
Regrettably, we have indeed succeeded in removing the “Christ” in Christmas, and replaced it with the “X” in Xmas and in so doing we have succeeded in alienating ourselves and our children from the glory and the beauty of Christianity. We spend more time and effort in glorifying the season with joy and merryment and pay little attention to the message of the angels who announced to the world of the coming of the Savior with the words “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace and good will to men.”
But, this fact not withstanding, I want you to know that these two concepts are not mutually exclusive and in fact, when you think about it, there is a lot of basic similarities in the messages they bring. The message of Jesus Christ is primarily one of love, sacrifice and giving without expecting anything in return. Even as he died for us on the cross, all he asked from us is our love. So too is the concept of Santa Claus, who spends his life in preparing and giving happiness to children the world over, without any expectation of payback or reward. Don’t you see that in both cases the over-riding message is one of “love and goodwill to all.”
Someone, whose name I do not recall, once wrote:
“Jesus believed in us and gave to us, asking nothing in return. Santa is that symbol of believing and giving without expecting anything. Isn’t this what we want our children to believe and keep alive?”
This indeed my dear Anastasia, is the real meaning and spirit of Christmas; a time to rejoice the birth of Christ, to celebrate his life and his teachings, and to give thanks for his sacrifice on our behalf. In a similar way Santa Claus represents all the goodness of this message in a way a small child is able to understand and identify with....... Do you really think we should remove this opportunity?
In our headlong desire to commercialize and profit from the event, we have lost the dignity and integrity of the true christmas spirit in our hearts. Instead of dwelling on the goodness and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf, we have chosen to spend more time worrying about the material trappings of the season. It is no wonder that the true meaning and intent of Santa Claus has also been buried by the ensuing garbage, and adapted to suit the greedy desires of a distorted society. This indeed is the real problem that is worthy of our concerted efforts to change and improve.
So, you see my dear Anastasia, do not equate the “Santa Claus” projected by the media and by big business, with it's true concept and wholesome symbol of love, sacrifice and commitment. Instead, let us continue to allow him to be the wonderful spirit in the imagination of the young child who is as yet not able to assimilate, as you no doubt are, the true spirit and message of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Uncle Doc
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