It’s Complicated{Day 31 of 31 Days to Redeeming Christmas}

You see that little status that notifies you of  a relationship change on Facebook.  ”It’s complicated”. Immediately you think that clearly things are not okay.  Someone is thinking of leaving? Someone wants to leave? The status of a relationship is big,big news on social media.  Friends ask if you are okay.  Family treads softly around your tender heart. But everyone is confused.  What does it really mean?

It’s complicated.

This is how my relationship with Jesus is.  Don’t get me wrong. I love Him with all my heart.  I’ve known Him my whole life. I’ve never once doubted that He is who He says He is.  I’ve never doubted His promises.  But, well, sometimes we’re just roommates.  Sometimes we don’t talk much and I feel like He doesn’t really understand me. Other times we laugh and talk for hours.  I tell Him everything and He responds in every way.  But, it’s complicated.  It’s hard. Sometimes it’s just hard to know where I stand.  And my faith is a bit fuzzy.  I fuss about things that are so insignificant.  I whine, complain, lament and page through the sorry-Psalms(as I like to call them).  The wailing of David in all of his torment seems fitting often.  I’m sure Jesus feels the complexity of my inconsistencies too.

Christmas is like that for me.

These past 31 days have been really eye-opening for me to understand what I want out of Christmas.  What do I really need to get out of this relationship? Do I want to walk away? No.  I love Christmas. I adore the candles and the carols. I crave the shortbread and the singing.  I find peace in the snowfalls and the Shepherds abiding.

Abiding.

Maybe that’s where I am.  Abiding in this new found relationship that Christmas isn’t what it used to be. Not what I thought it should be and perhaps, I’m just finding a shepherd kind of peace in where we are at.

Christmas is complicated. There’s no doubt about that.

But my desire for Christmas is not.

What I wish for a redeemed Christmas is this:

• simpler gifts
• longer evenings spent by the fire
• meandering phone calls and letters from friends
• small gifts for precious folks
• late night walks on lit up streets
• sugar cookies and milk for me and the mister and maybe the kids too.
• smiles on neighbour’s faces
• hugs from loved ones
• joy on faces
• no shopping stresses
• no built up expectations
• Jesus

I won’t be doing everything on all those posts from this series.  I will do some.  The point isn’t to do it all. The point is to  take back; renovate; redeem all of the Christmases we’ve spent worrying and hurrying.  We redeem them when we listen to the still small voice.

1 Kings 19:

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

In the still,small voice of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes we find peace, rest and hope.

This is what a redeemed Christmas looks and feels like.

Now go and tell the whole world.

***At the top of this page you will see the link to 31 Days to Redeeming Christmas. In there you will find my “manifesto” of sorts for what Christmas means to me as well as links to all 31 posts in this series. Happy reading and Merry Christmas! ****

Redeeming Advent{Day 30}

We’ve spent the last 30 days dissecting some of the things we do to welcome Christmas.  Many of our traditions aren’t very Christ-like.  I’ve come to accept a lot of it as cultural, seasonal and related to our surroundings.   But there’s one thing I’m kind of hoping we can all agree on.  Advent.

Wikipedia says this:

Advent, anglicized from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming“, is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences onAdvent Sunday, called Levavi. The Eastern churches’ equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast, but it differs both in length and observances and does not begin the church year, which starts instead on September 1.^[1]

The progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic,Anglican, Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterian and Methodist calendars, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25, the Sunday fromNovember 27 to December 3 inclusive.

Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent serves as a reminder both of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting of Christians for Christ’s return from Heaven where he now sits at the Right Hand of God.

Advent is , at its very core, the most spiritual of all our Christmas celebrations.  I did not grow up in a particularly liturgical church but for December, there were always the Advent candles lit and a devotional to prepare our hearts.  My mom had a little Angel Advent candle  display and it was extremely peaceful and comforting to watch the angels with their trumpets spinning around * announcing the birth of Christ*.  

Sadly, for many, Advent is a chocolate calendar.  We’ve all bought them. I am guilty.  What a horrible way to downplay something so special. If I could redeem any one thing this Christmas, it would be to redeem Advent. There are so many wonderful resources online.  Here are just a few:

1. Caleb Voskamp, son of Ann Voskamp of 1000 Gifts fame, has hand carved Advent Wreaths. They are simple and beautiful. You can buy one here. You can also go to this blog post of Ann’s where she gives some ideas for Advent.

2.  If you are on Twitter, follow @OccupyAdvent for powerful quotes, songs and images to incorporate into your Advent tradition. I really loved this last year. Some very thought provoking and beautiful comments are shared.

3.For families with little ones  truthintinsel.com  has some great ideas, an e-book and printable ornaments to lead you through the season.

4. Read a book that engages you during the month of December and takes you back to the coming of the Lord Jesus as a baby. I’ve heard such good things about this book by John Blase~I am ordering it!

 I’ve also heard really good things about Advent Conspiracy too.  It’s on my list as well!

5. And finally, I just LOVE the Nativity movie. I find it to be so well done, culturally and historically accurate and with just enough creative license to make for a great re-telling of a beautiful story. It is totally worth watching each and every year.

If you buy chocolate countdown calendars for your kids…..they are just that. Countdown Calendars.

Advent is so much more. So much deeper.

I, for one, am going to stay away from these:

Pic borrowed from my Twitter friend Michele Rajput @dsmyxe

The Secret Giver~Adopt a Family {Day 29}

Matthew 6:

1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

This is one of my favourite passages. I love everything about it. I love that it is Jesus’ words and I love that it comes just before He teaches us how to pray(the Lord’s prayer).   What I love most is the concept that giving, especially to the needy, is to be done in such a way that we draw absolutely zero attention to ourselves. NONE. It is a secret.  It is THE best secret.  When you give to those in need , you do so to bring glory to God, not glory to yourselves. 

About 12 years ago we had made plans to go home to our parents’ for Christmas.  We had 4 little kids and my husband worked very hard to provide but that was a year of particular financial hardship for us. Our 4th baby had come and life was chaotic, hectic and expensive with 2 in diapers.   Our van’s transmission completely died about 3 weeks before Christmas.  The cost to fix it was going to be around $1400 and a few extras on top of that. We were shell-shocked. We only lived pay-cheque to pay-cheque and there really wasn’t extra money for any surprises. The money we were going to use to drive to Saskatchewan was immediately put into the repair of our only vehicle. Obviously, there would be no trip.  And even beyond that there would be no money for gifts or turkey dinner. All of our bill payments had to be held off until the 2nd pay cheque in the month meaning that we were behind and the only way to get caught up was to pay them all at once leaving nothing for extras.

I cried.

Not because our kids weren’t going to have gifts but because our plans, hopes and dreams of being with family was gone in an instant. I cried because the burden of not having enough was unbearably heavy that year. I cried because I felt alone.

And then came the secret givers.

First there was one family who asked if they could provide some gifts for our kids. It was so sweet how their kids wrapped items for our kids.  And then someone else helped with some groceries and food.

And then came Christmas Eve. We had long come to recognize our church’s generosity, especially at Christmas to families in need. We knew that on Christmas Eve there would be sacks of toys and hampers of food for the neediest in the community.  What we didn’t know was that at then end of the night, when all the other sacks were taken away….there were two large ones left. For us. Shocked, humbled, a crying blubbering mess I was. I felt guilty. Surely there were others that had more need than we did. But the Lord spoke into my life and gently reminded me that this is how He shows His love. He sees our needs and He fills them. He sees our desires and He longs to give them to us.

We went home and the kids were so excited. Some of the nicest toys and books were wrapped for each of them. Beautiful toys and even some treats: a gingerbread cake/cookie pan, mix, decorations, turkey and the fixings…so many things…it was like an over abundance…MORE THAN WE WOULD HAVE EVER, EVER BOUGHT FOR OURSELVES.

It was one of the nicest Christmases ever. Just knowing that people cared. Feeling like someone took the time to think of us and consider our kids’ ages and likes~ it was really special.

We don’t know who the givers were(the church let people adopt a family as opposed to the church paying for the items).  We had a couple of ideas but we never found out. No one seemed to know…or at least they weren’t saying.  And you know, I just love that.  I love not knowing because all I do know is that Jesus loves us.  All I know is that someone took up being the hands and feet of Jesus. I couldn’t say thank you to a person, I had to thank Jesus.  I couldn’t put a face to the gifts…only Jesus.

You see, that is the beauty of the secret gift.  That is the  challenge before us at Christmas~ we like or dislike things based on who gave them to us. It is natural to judge: “oh, clearly they don’t know us very well”  or  feeling guilt or an obligation to repay to whomever it was.

This is why I love adopting a family every Christmas.  I love to buy special things, wrap them and bless them in Jesus’ name.  I love to take the meager list that the agency gives (usually very small and modest) and double , triple or quadruple ….every little item that a family could use at Christmas: At least one large and one small gift for each member, stockings filled with personal items, Festive napkins, decorations, treats, chocolates, Christmasy towels, games, puzzles, coffee, tea and more…..

I never know who receives it or how it is received. It doesn’t matter.  I just love going all out and not hearing a peep about it afterwards.  Because that’s the Jesus way of giving.

I challenge everyone to adopt a family this Christmas. If you do nothing else, this will be the single most important, significant thing you do.

 Contact your local agencies for more information;

Salvation Army

MCC

Local Child and Family Services

The Sights. The Sounds. The Smells ….of Christmas{Day28}

I don’t think there’s any question that Christmas~the word~means different things to different people. In this series to Redeeming Christmas, I have been trying to get us to focus on the simple message of Christ, His birth, His sacrifice, His gift.  Redeeming Christmas is all about taking the things we love about Christmas and doing them better, different and in such a way that we point others to the person of Jesus Christ.

As a mom, there is no better way to show Christ to my children than modeling Him in all that I do and say. And for my little kids, I used the tangible; the everyday, the ordinary things that others may take for granted and make my children think about Jesus.

Some of these things may seem elementary. Others may seem silly to “spiritualize” inanimate objects.  But I have found, now that my kids are older, they still remember these stories and themes.  That is really the point.  When people come into your home, do they SEE the theme of Redeeming Love? Do they see Jesus? Do they see your faith in action? Do they see that you are not ashamed of the gospel? You would be surprised at what people will remember and how the simplest effort can make a lasting impact.  Here are some for you to consider:

• Red is a colour we associate with Christmas. It is a colour of passion and love. There is no greater love and no more intense passion than that of Christ laying down his life, shedding His BLOOD for the redemption of mankind. Make sure your kids know this.
• Green ~our evergreen trees….they are EVERgreen to remind us of EVERLASTING life.
• Gold~one of the 3 gifts brought to Jesus from the Magi. It is rare and valuable….just as we are to God. It also reminds us that the rare and special gifts are the best.
• Candy Canes~ red and white in the shape of a Shepherd’s hook.  They remind us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who would give up His life for just one of His sheep.  Red and white to show that His blood has washed us white as snow. Also, upside down it is the letter “J” for Jesus! 
• Nativity Scenes~ one of my most treasured seasonal decorations is our cardboard nativity set that we have used for the past 20 Christmases. It is a reminder of the simple way in which Jesus became a man to show us the way to eternal life

• Angels~ Heavenly messengers bringing us the Good News of Jesus’ birth
• Stars~Probably one of my favourite decorations because it means HOPE and FAITH.  The Wise Men followed the star…not really knowing where it would lead, but they were confident of the Hope of what it offered. It took them a lot of faith to follow something they didn’t understand and couldn’t see.

Cinnamon and Nutmeg~ the spices that we use during this season are a great way to remind us of Frankensense and Myrrh which the Wise Men also gave to Jesus. Special and symbolic…the spices were used in the burial of Jesus after His death.

• Carols~ It always warms my heart to hear  ”O Come Let us Adore Him, Christ the Lord” , ” Joy to the World, the Lord is Come”  and “O Holy Night~ When Christ Was Born”‘  playing in malls, stores and other venues of a month every year. Play them long, play them loud, play them for all to hear.  They have a message and the message is good news!

 

• Decorations~ use the names of Jesus creatively in your decor. Use words on your doors, your houses, your walls, your tree, your gifts, your cards, your letters……WORDS are powerful.  Holy, Glory, Jesus, Christ, Redeemer, Faith, Hope, Love.

There are many more. You just have to use some creativity…and Google. You will find that it is very easy to tell and share the story of Christ at Christmas. Your children, your neighbours, your family and friends will hear it, receive it and they will be blessed.

Christmas:What’s the Point? {Day27}

If all of our baking and decorating doesn’t point others to Jesus, then there is no point.

That is my simple message to you on this day. There are less than 2 months until the DAY we celebrate Jesus’ birth. But that gives us 60 days to prepare our hearts, minds, homes and gifts to SPEAK life and love and hope to our neighbours, family and friends.  Christmas has a point.  The point is Jesus.  The point is LOVE.  That is why He came.

1 Corinthians 13(my paraphrase)

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love,

I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 

² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,

and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,

 but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴    The spirit of CHRIST in ME is patient, {IT} is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

⁵ CHRISTMAS does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

 

The Problem with Santa Part 3{Day 26}

Santa, it’s not you. It’s me. I’m sorry to tell you this but, it’s just not working out. You’ve become, well, high maintenance. And I know, I know~it’s really not your fault. It’s mine. But, I think it’s time we went our separate ways.  I wish you well but I don’t want you coming around my friends either. It could get awkward. 

 

Clearly, this isn’t the sentiment of most Santa-loving people. Maybe it should be?  I’m not sure.

I really don’t know where we go from here. Santa is a problem. He’s a BIG problem and the ones who say he’s not are lying to themselves. Even those who say Santa is just for kids~lies.  Explain then, why from about November 30 to December 24 fathers and mothers will take several hours out of their day to stand in line in a mall. With cranky, hot, tired kids.  Dressed up little kids in dresses and vests and dress pants and fancy shoes~uncomfortable little kids who are obviously not into whatever their parents are dishing out.  I’ve seen it over and over again.

Children being forced to sit in the lap of a perfect stranger. For the most part 97.9% of you have no clue who this feller is that your children are snuggling with. He might be the nicest man in the world…or he might not. But there you are, plopping your pride and joy into the hands of Old St.Nick, the shoe salesman, who is happy to take your $20 (or whatever it costs) and move on to the next ripe candidate.  Will he remember that Johnny wants a mandolin? Will he care that Susie wants a tutu? No.  Is he making a list and checking it twice? He is not.  It is actually very funny.  Oh the lengths we go to in order to satisfy our silly fantasies.

I don’t know what you should do this Christmas with Santa.

I do know that sometimes truth hurts and always truth is freeing. 

Struggling to maintain a certain level of mythology and magic as part of your Christmas traditions may be exactly what you are doing and will continue to do. That is completely fine in the context of the season, the holidays, the madness of it all. However, this is  totally counterintuitive to a Redeeming Christmas.

Seeking a redeemed Christmas is seeking why Jesus came. If Christmas is going to be about Jesus and His birth;His redemption for mankind in the sacrifice of becoming man, then Christmas can’t be about Santa.

John 14:6  Jesus said, “‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“‘

John 8:32 “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.“

A Redeemed Christmas is not about Santa.  A Redeemed Christmas is all about Jesus.

(I would just like to add that I was going to post something softer and more liberal. I had intended to give permission~`like I have that authority’~ for people to go ahead and make Santa the focus and parade him around and have fun with it like always….but I was sorely convicted.  I prayed about this.  A redeemed Christmas is all about Jesus. That is what this series is about. I am totally fine with those who choose the other route~the Santa way. I am not here to judge. This is simply what I believe, as I have read the Word and prayed about it for our family. I’m sharing this with those of you who are seeking a Christ-focused Christmas.)

For the previous two posts on The Problem with Santa click here and here.

If you would like to see all of my posts on a Redeemed Christmas, click here .

For the Spenders and the Impulse Buyers{Day 25}

I LOVE LOVE LOVE buying Christmas decorations and gifts. I get lost in kitschy stores. IKEA is like a drug. Winners/TJMazz/HomeSense..those are danger zones for me. When we lived in Calgary I can honestly say that 50% of my yearly impulse spending went to Christmas decorations, home decor items and things I had no use for.  I’m probably being conservative: let’s go with 75%.  So how did I stop?

Somewhere along the way, there was conviction.  There was reality. There was a sense that I was filling a needless void with things and stuff. Sure they look pretty in the store but with all the stuff I had at home I just couldn’t justify it anymore. I couldn’t.

Facing our weakness is only the first step to stopping bad habits.  To overcome the temptation, you have to remove the temptation.  So I stopped going to those stores. Stopped driving by them. Stopped.

It’s been about 3 years now since I overindulged but now I’m back in the city and the stores are all too convenient.  Thrift stores are my weakness. Last week I drove by Winners and realized we’ve lived here for over 2 months and I hadn’t gone in. So I did.  And you know….there wasn’t anything there that got me excited. At least not excited enough to spend money that is spoken for.  Things like bills and groceries.

Retailers count on you to be wooed by their fancy window dressings and big bold sale signs.  They spend a TON of money on marketing to colour preferences and the things that will entice.  Women are their target audience. We are the suckers. We are so easily swayed and so very gullible.  You kind of have to get angry with them …just a bit.  Not raging,frothing at the mouth angry but just angry enough that you won’t go there. They have your money. They charge way too much.  Get angry about that. You are paying for a name more than you are paying for quality. You are also not paying for the workers who have literally slaved over the object of your affections.  Those workers get little.  They are not living like you and they are struggling.  So get angry…just a bit. Sure, there are ethical resellers. Yes, there are made in Canada and made in US products.  But overall, we’re all getting hosed.   The retailers you frequent are not concerned with your Redeemed Christmas anymore than they are concerned about how you’re going to pay for things you don’t need.  They are solely relying on you being tempted and giving into that temptation. They are banking on it.

Walk away.

I don’t have any formula or strategy.

Pray.  And then walk away.

In fact, don’t even go.

I can’t tell you when the last time was I went to a mall to shop.  I have no idea. I hate malls. They are cesspools of greed and excess. I just don’t go.

Make a list of who you are buying for this Christmas. Pray over each name. Think of that person’s character, talents and strengths.  You will come up with something clever and wonderful for them without setting foot into a mall.  When you are good and ready, walk into the store that you need to find that item and then walk out without batting an eye at anything else.

From one spender to another~this can be done. And it’s a lot easier than you or I would have ever thought. I am living proof.  Sure, I still glance at fancy windows.  Of course I get excited when I see 70% off signs. But no more will I allow myself or my family to be held hostage by marketing gurus in a concrete jungle. No more.

If you love to shop. Then shop. If you can afford it, I am not here to judge. Some people just love shopping.

But if you are all about redeeming your Christmas from commercialism and excess then you have to put your foot down and just say no. Your Christmas will be delightfully simple and peaceful without the last minute gadgets and doo-dads that fell into your cart. It will be amazing. It will be the BEST Christmas.

Embracing The Season(and maybe a hint at a guest post) {Day 24}

I’m trying to convince my friend Jenna, from www.troublefacemom.com to do a guest post about Christmas. You should check out her comment in yesterday’s post about The Problem with Santa.  She made some points that I had been pondering and would have posted this weekend but I think she’ll do a better job. So this is my way of outing her and inviting her all at once. Jenna, PLEASE, for the love of Christmas….do a guest post!

 

I have often looked at Christmas in two parts. The holy holiday Christmas part and the wintery,cozy, decorated part. For me, being a Canadian on the cold bald prairie, winter is a time to hunker down, get warm, read books, do puzzles and make my home welcoming.   We don’t do a lot outdoors in December and January because it’s just too cold and dark for more hours in the day than it is light.  This is why I love to decorate my house early. Christmas is literally the only thing that breaks up 4-6 months of winter.

Imagine if Thanksgiving were not in the fall, but in the spring.  We wouldn’t use pumpkins and warm tones to decorate.  Or what if Independence Day or Canada Day weren’t in July but in January? Would we have parades and watermelon?   You see, our seasons dictate how we celebrate occasions, holidays and even how we feel about those days.  If you hate winter, you may come to hate Christmas, which isn’t really fair.  You have to find a way to separate the holiday from the season but then also, bring the two together in such a way that you can fully embrace both.

So when those first flakes start to fall, I naturally yearn to pull out some twinkly lights and bake some shortbread. It’s just what we do!

I’ve been pinning a lot lately.  Do you pin? Do you know what pinning is?  Come on over to Pinterest and see.  Here’s a few of my recent pins on Christmas, decorating and winter.  Doesn’t it make you just want to curl up under a warm blanket and listen to some soft Christmas music?

 

The Problem With Santa Part 2{Day 23 of 31 Posts}

If you haven’t read Part 1 of the Problem With Santa, you can find it here.

 

Lest I am misquoted, misunderstood or placed on dart board targets across the land, let me just clarify something. I watch the Tim Allen Santa Claus movies all the time. I love Elf. Who could possibly not want to see Will Ferrell every year yelling “SANTAAAAA” like a cat in heat? I giggle at National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and I even have a Vintage Coca-Cola poster with Santa as one of my prized possessions.

 

I do not think Santa is evil and I am not looking to ban Santa from our language or traditions. There are families who love this part of their holiday festivities and they are very conscious of making it a small part of their Christmas. However, the greater part of our population has made Santa THE most important part of Christmas. And those of us in Christ, who seek a redeemed Christmas, have let it happen, participated and over-indulged.

 

I like statistics. Here’s some to consider:

• For the 2006/7 Christmas Season it was estimated that Americans spent $457 BILLION on gifts(avg of $800 per person)
• For the 2005 fiscal year Americans gave approximately $250BILLION to charities

So~ let’s just get this straight: DOUBLE the amount of money spent on Christmas gifts for ONE day than was given over the entire year to world wide charities

• after searching through several mommy/parenting blog sites I have found that parents buy anywhere from 1-4 gifts for each child from Santa
• some parents say that Santa gives the majority of the gifts in their home
• other parents say that Santa gives the major/large/expensive gifts and parents give the ” needed” or more personal gifts

 I think I’m actually in shock.  I had no idea.

You see, we never got gifts from Santa. We didn’t even know who Santa was. When we were very little and in town for lunch one December day, my older sister stood up on the bench seat and yelled ” hey look at all the Eskimos”  (she was pointing to decals and window decorations on the windows of the restaurant. At the time she was probably 3 years old).  She had no idea who Santa was.  My mom said some of the patrons looked on in horror that a little child had no idea who the red-felted fellow was.

My kids don’t get ” Santa”  gifts either.

Here’s some of our reasons why:

1. He isn’t real.

2. If I’m giving my kids a gift, then it is from ME and my husband, not Santa. Why should he get all the glory, praise and thanks for what my husband has earned and worked so hard to provide?

3. The fairy tales are fun for movies and stories but when they invade the personal space of family , I’ve come to believe that is overstepping big time.

4. We like to open our gifts on Christmas Eve which doesn’t really fit with the story of Santa.

5. If a parent is poor(as we have been) and can barely provide one gift for their child(ren), do they forfeit the privilege of giving to their child to keep the ” secret of  Santa”  alive?  Or do they scrounge to give one small gift and leave the child feeling they must be bad because Santa didn’t give them anything? OR does Santa give them a cheap toy while their friends get something really fantastic?

I just really don’t understand how all of these things line up and work out.  No wonder parents are stressed and miserable about shopping for their kids!  And what does all of this teach our kids about Christmas and giving anyway? I really wish someone would enlighten me because it makes absolutely no sense.

Getting back to the spending…..what if Santa didn’t exist?  What if there were no parents buying gifts ” from Santa” ? How would that affect the retail spending at Christmas?  Would it? Maybe it would, and maybe parents would just spend more from themselves to their kids.  However, marketing would change.  Consider Christmas commercials that appeal to your inner elf.  You want to help Santa don’t you?  You want Santa to bring you the BEST gift, right? You want to be on the nice list?   Retailers have you pinned against a wall and wrapped around every little finger they can manufacture.  You are being lied to, schmoozed, tempted, bribed and pandered to. You’ve been had.  The retailers are banking on YOU buying more than you can afford, more than your kids need, and they are helping you do it with credit cards, layaways and creative marketing.

Santa is a multi-billion dollar business.  Santa is fake but he is rich and he is getting richer.

Perhaps part of redeeming Christmas for many of us would be to take the money we would normally spend on “Santa” gifts and put it into redeeming LIFE for others: water , food, medication , shelter…..that is a Redeemed Christmas! (if even a small percentage of the people buying Santa gifts for their kids put it into helping “the least of these”  it could translate to literally billions of dollars…BILLIONS!)

For all of my posts on Redeeming Christmas, click the link at the top of this page.

And if you’d like to see some of the other bloggers who are blogging for 31days straight in October, go over here to THE NESTER and check some of them out. Such a plethora of topics!

The Problem with Santa{Day 22 of 31 Days to Redeeming Christmas}

Okay, I’ve been working my way up to this topic. I’ve probably avoided it a little too.  Some of you are not going to like what I have to say.  And if you’re a hardcore Santa lover and Christmas isn’t Christmas without Santa no matter what, you probably should just stop reading here.   I will preface this by saying this is totally my opinion. I am open to having my opinion changed or altered but on this issue, I’m pretty solid.   But I would love to hear your thoughtful, intelligent comments…no negative bashing necessary. I will look after that quite nicely. (oh please, you know I’m going to take this to task)

Santa~ friendly, happy, jolly, extremely overweight, quite old, kind, generous and obviously rich.  What’s not to love?

Where do I begin? I am sure this will become at least a 2-3 post topic. Santa is a big story. An old story. A timeless story. Santa is so woven into the fabric of our culture and our *MERRY CHRISTMAS*  that I’m not even sure Christmas exists without Santa…at least not in North America.  Which makes me wonder~ does Santa have such a presence in the other nations of the earth?

This link has a few interesting facts about Santa and similar characters around the world. Everything from Sinterklaas in Holland to Black Peter of Morrocco, to Pere Noel in France.  The world is fixated on some mythical gift-giver who is sneaky, but generous.   However, I can’t help but feel as *innocent* as the intention of Santa is, he has become something larger and far more commercialized than St. Nicholas would have ever endorsed. After all, St. Nicholas was considered a miracle-worker in the Church. His dedication to God and serving people had little to do with gifts or Christmas for that matter.

I’m going to suggest to you all(as painstaking as this is to admit) that our current day Santa Claus is in the idol category.

i·dol

noun

1.

an image or other material object representing a deity

 to which religious worship is addressed.

2.

Bible .

a.

an image of a deity other than God.

b.

the deity itself.

3.

any person or thing regarded with blind admiration

adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol.

4.

a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom.

5.

a figment of the mind; fantasy.

I know that’s harsh. And it’s particularly harsh for those of us who have been brought up by the Book knowing that the 1st commandment is very clear: “ You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3)

And the 2nd commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”(vs3-5)

What more can I say? Really. What more is there? Santa is THE face, THE voice, THE picture of giving and THE most talked about , sung about, lauded character in the last hundred years.   And he is NOT REAL.

Perhaps this is where my biggest issue rests.  That parents; wonderful, loving, good parents would lie to their children year after year after year. And they say it’s okay.  And they continue to perpetuate this lie and psych their kids up for the “most wonderful time of the year”.  Little kids who can barely talk or walk know who Santa is.

Kids who don’t know anything about governments, economies, wealth, developed nations, 3rd world nations, hunger, poverty, drought, famine, disease…they KNOW who Santa is and that they’re getting something from him. I find this extremely disturbing .  And it goes back to my earlier post about getting and giving and how the getting and wish lists seem to trump everything else.  Remember, this series is on REDEEMING CHRISTMAS from the commercialized gimme-gimme chaos we have all come to know and loathe.

I am not going to suggest you throw out Santa with the dog poop.  I am going to suggest that you examine Santa’s place at your Christmas feast.  Is he at the head of the table as an honoured guest? Is there any room at that table for “‘the least of these” and Jesus, the Son of God who lowered Himself to the level of stable animals?  We say the words and we try our best to convince the world around us; family, friends, neighbours, that we are Christians. Christ-followers who believe in the virgin birth. Lovers of men not lovers of things.  But if we were to look into our own windows , with the eyes of a stranger, on Christmas morn, would the world KNOW that we are what we say we are?  It is our actions, most often, that speak for us. And sadly, I worry that red Santa suits and over-stuffed stockings are all that people might see.

I want to redeem my Christmas, and for me, there isn’t enough room for Santa and Jesus. There just isn’t.

Click here to go to Part 2 of The Problem With Santa