1 Corinthians 13:11
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”

This creature of one night a year after appearing in malls for a month has a long history dating back to somewhere around 280 AD in the embodiment of a monk named St Nicholas. There have been many iterations of this character over the following centuries. So who is he really?

I was born in 1950, so I’m an old man. I grew up steeped in Christmas traditions. That means I grew up believing in this old man called Santa Claus. As a Christian, I refer back to the verse above. We all grow up.

I remember I had a friend in school that had older brothers. I was the oldest of my brothers. That means older brothers told their younger brother the truth about Santa Claus. I came home feeling betrayed and lied to. As we all sat at the dinner table that evening with my younger brothers around the table I came out with my findings. There was an extreme hush around the table in everyone. My dad and I sat at opposite ends of the table and I could feel his eyes bearing down on me so I looked straight at him. The first word after a moment of silence was a question me. “Son, what do you believe?” My reply was a resounding yes. I do believe.

A few days later when my dad and I were alone he sat me down and began to explain that I was growing up and that certain things we grew up with would be found out and the imaginary things would be put away. Then he told me that he and mom were “Santa Claus”. My heart felt broken. I was lied to. I’d always been told to be honest in all things. My innocence had been shattered.

Armed with this knowledge I committed to not telling my younger brothers despite how I felt. It was years later when I was in my later twenties and I had two sons of my own and I came to God with an honest commitment and with a study of the Bible and history I concluded my sons would not be told a lie. My wife at the time and I decided to tell my sons there was no Santa Claus and they did not mind. They knew we gave them gifts and they appreciated it without a lie about the propagation of an imaginary figure based on a historical monk from centuries before.

I would ask if you don’t agree with me to search out the principle of what should we really be doing to bring our children up. Do we want to continue with such a thing as lying to them about someone that does not exist?

I don’t have an axe to grind over it. I’m just saying we are taught to not lie and this is a subtle lie that destroys confidence. Study the issue for yourself. Come away with your conclusions from Biblical principles. He’s no more real than the tooth fairy.