Christian Living

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Jesus V Santa

The magic and mystery that surrounds Santa is on a not too distant parallel from Christ. It’s the gifts we receive and what we do with them that make all the difference.

First of all God sends us a present in the shape of Jesus Christ. Not particularly well gift wrapped no pretty paper or sparkly ribbon and rather unceremoniously dumped in an outhouse, namely a stable with probably mucky straw. Who would have inkling that at that moment in time what was laid before them wriggling and crying was the greatest gift we are ever likely to receive.

The first people we know of who were called to witness the arrival of this gift and to wonder what all the fuss was about were some local Jewish shepherds. In that day shepherds were considered the poorest workers with very little standing in society. Yet God chose them to see the miracle from the beginning, they realized by the way the delivery was announced to them on a cold hillside that they must go and see this special gift and had only a new born lamb to offer as their gift in return.

The other group came from the opposite end of the social spectrum, from Gentile lands far away. The three rich and powerful wise men who were probably astrologers saw the heavenly sign. A brilliant star, so much bigger and brighter than any other star they had seen, and moving purposefully across the heavens. They recognized its importance and what it meant, that the world has just received a Saviour for the human race. The three set off following the star to see this heaven sent gift to the world, and so in return gave gifts of great value, equivalent to their social status and great wealth.

Nothing more was recorded of these two groups of people. The shepherds returned to their flocks and back into obscurity and the three wise men went as mysteriously as they came. The message here would be to show everyone that Christ was given to bring rich and poor, Jew and Gentile together, that God’s gift left no one out and all people would become equal.

So this is where it all began, the receiving and giving of gifts. Unfortunately few people recognized what was being offered by this first God given gift, and as usual what is not understood is often feared, abused, ridiculed and destroyed. Thankfully the people who did understand what had been given and for what purpose shared the good news with all who would listen. Thus ensuring the message, which came with the gift, was not lost and now two thousand years later we still celebrate the first gift and the act of giving in return.


Today Santa is seen as the bearer of gifts, the bringer of glad tidings if the greeting cards are to be believed. Santa seems to have replaced God in many cases as the giver of gifts. He is portrayed as someone magical and mystical to our children and very tangible, we encourage their belief for as long as possible. When Santa arrives in style to the local supermarket or shopping centre amid much hype and commercialism, we take our children to sit on his knee where they ask for bigger and better presents. This causes the parents much stress and heartache trying to comply with the demands of providing the expensive gifts their children want.

When children are asked ‘What does Christmas mean to them?’ so many think of Santa as the bringer of presents and not Jesus in a manger, a birthday celebration.
Jesus came to offer us peace and eternal life, but how many of us failed to recognize this gift because its not wrapped up in the way we expect, so its left unopened and discarded.

Christmas for many is the worry of what to buy family members who seem to have everything. Whatever you give they will look down their noses at it and try to work out how much it cost. The joy of giving is lost, and knowing you will get skunk scented after shave or a tie that’s so loud you need ear plugs does not encourage joyful thoughts. We need a concerted effort to re-educate our children to the real meaning of Christmas, the gift of eternal life and not the latest action man or Barbie doll.

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