The 'Santa'-Tized Christmas

from Agape Press {Read full article here}
by Roy Wikoff

"As a child growing up in the small southeastern West Virginia town of Logan, I really didn't know about the Christmas controversy that is so prevalent today. You know, 'Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas.' We knew from church and from our grandparents that Christmas was to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. We always read the account of His first coming to this earth from the Bible, book of Luke, Chapter 2. In no way did we even consider that Santa was a part of that.

Mom always reminded us of the reason for season: the birth of Christ. We knew it was His
day -- and yet somehow we quickly forgot that, as we played with our new loot and toys and never mentioned the name of Jesus again until someone prayed at the annual traditional Christmas dinner. Today we pay homage to Jesus in passing, maybe to make us feel better about the Santa thing. We are all guilty of this, and we keep 'keeping on' as if God takes some pleasure in our pleasure, which excludes Him so readily.

We scamper here and there to find the perfect last-minute gift for someone we forgot. If only we hurried about for Jesus and took the same energy to offer praise to Him that we employ in buying gifts. Even if it were at the last minute, it would be better than the way we do it now. Not to offend those of you who pay tribute to Jesus, but you are a minority in the Church and you do it with great love for the Savior; you simply do not worry about jingle bells and Santa. With you, I'm sure He is very pleased.

We get angry when a large department store will not use the word 'Christmas.' We accuse them of taking Christ out of Christmas by saying 'Happy Holidays', but we then forget or never even think of Him when it really counts. Such hypocrites are we, all the while sending a very bad message to our children and grandchildren, who are watching. And believe me, they are watching! How do you think we got this way?

When Hollywood has made more than 150 movies about Christmas and none of them reflect His birth as a central theme, then it is indeed apparent to this quiet observer that we have definitely 'Santa'-tized Christmas. It's no wonder the chain stores and the culture uses the term 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas.' We don't even know why we say 'Merry Christmas' -- and for that matter, why we get so upset at others for not using it -- when we would rather pay homage to the commercial Christmas and Ol' Saint Nick.

For me and my house, we shall always remember the blessed event of His birth. My prayer is for us to change into a culture that remembers Christ instead of Kris. We may have a happy holiday and a merry Christmas, but we plan on having a celebration of a very blessed event -- the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world."



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