- You have to stand in line to talk to Santa. Anyone (not just kids) can talk to Jesus wherever they are and whenever they want to talk to Him.
- Santa doesn’t really know what we want or need. Jesus knows this even if we don’t tell Him.
- Santa comes once a year. Jesus is here every day, all the time.
- Santa travels by sleigh to your house and comes down the chimney. Jesus is with you whenever and wherever you are.
- Santa keeps track of the good kids and the bad kids. Jesus does know who is being good or being bad, but when we confess our shortcomings and sins to Him we can be forgiven. Jesus loves us!
- Santa comes on Christmas Eve when we’re tucked in bed, and he does not come to see us. Santa leaves some presents and leaves until next year. We can’t see Jesus yet, but when we go to Heaven we will always be with Him.
- Santa was written in some poems, stories, and songs, and is celebrated in various ways in different nations around the world. Many variations can be tracked down. The coming of Jesus was prophesied in Scripture for hundreds of years before He was born, and in the New Testament we can read a lot about His life, what He did and what He said. There were a lot of witnesses to His life.
- Santa is just for little kids; the older ones have figured out he is a fictional character or their friends told them the truth, even though their parents acted like Santa was real. Jesus is for anyone of any age, living anywhere in the world. We can read about Him in the Bible.
- The actual St. Nicholas was a Greek Christian bishop who gave generous gifts to the poor. His remains were taken to Bari where a basilica was constructed for half of his skeleton. The other half consisted of minor fragments collected by Venetian sailors and taken to Venice where a church was built. Jesus was crucified and died. After three days in the tomb He arose from the grave, and 40 days later He ascended into Heaven in view of many followers.
- We can read the interesting facts and fables about Santa, alias St. Nick, on the Internet at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus When we give this topic some serious thought we will be able to discuss the pros and cons of our modern-day Christmas celebrations. Our friends might not know about Jesus. It would be a very good thing to tell them what we’ve learned. # # #
By Elaine Hardt ©2013
