Santa and the Stable

(Spoiler alert: If you have not found out that Santa Claus is not real, you will not want to read this article)

I have never been one to emphatically reject the use of Santa Claus during the Christmas season. But I was struck recently when I saw a large Santa display on the front lawn of a good Christian family's home. I contrasted that with some of the beautiful manger scenes in the front of other people's lawns and began to think about why I reacted to the harmless Santa Claus display in the front lawn of a good Christian family's home. Here's why.

Santa: The Christmas Symbol of Materialism

Set aside, for a moment, the wonderful stories of the 4th century Greek bishop, named St. Nicolas who secretly dispensed gifts to needy children in the name of Jesus Christ, and keep in mind Santa Claus of the American invention. You know him—the one who sits at malls across the country, promising little children the desires of their hearts, and miraculously whisks gifts around the world on his reindeer-led sleigh on Christmas Eve while children are sleeping.

Have you ever considered the disparity that exists for children around the world regarding how generous Santa is? Indeed, within the United States, some children will receive thousands of dollars worth of gifts from the jolly old Saint Nick, while others will receive nothing from stingy old Santa.

The reason for this is obvious: Santa Claus is not real. He is a symbol. A symbol of the wealth of the families donned with the financial ability to lavish their children with gifts during Christmas time. He is a symbol of materialism—a symbol which does not translate to families around the world who lack the means to supply what Santa Claus never can.

Santa Claus is a symbol who will die with economies, nations and comfort.

The Stable: A Symbol of Eternal Riches

The opposite symbol of Christmas is that of the stable. Despite recent attempts to clarify the Nativity scene (simply Google: ‘was Jesus born in a stable?’), the enduring truth remains: Jesus was born an impoverished birth, and laid in a most humiliating place for the King of kings—an animal's feeding trough.

This symbol of “Immensity cloistered” (John Donne), is a symbol which can speak, not just to wealthy Westerners, but to impoverished children and adults around the world, as well as to the wealthy. While disparity exists for how Santa is perceived in this world based on the wealth of the observer, the wealth of the gift of the stable is “good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10).

Economies will crumble; the stable will still speak. Nations will totter; the manger scene will still give hope. Comforts of this world will turn to trials; the birth of Jesus will only become more meaningful.

The stable is a symbol of Christmas that endures for eternity. It is the symbol of an impoverished people, met by the riches of grace, lavished upon us by a humble God (Eph. 1:7-8). And it is a symbol that will endure long past the materialistic symbol of Santa Claus.