Santa Claus as we see him in the movie Elf, is a myth. He is as made up and is as fake as Iron Man or Bugs Bunny (a rabbit who talks?). The Santa Claus myth of a fat, white bearded, jolly old man, wearing a red suit, lives at the North Pole, makes toys for tots, and distributes gifts to children all over the world at Christmass time built by elves, emerged from the stories around “Saint Nicholas.” Nicholas was a real person who lived in the 3rd and 4th centuries in Asia Minor, or current day Turkey. He became the Bishop of Myra and was apparently both generous and popular with the people of his local community, because after his death various legends surrounding his life became popular. Nicholas was declared the patron saint of children by the Roman Catholic Church (Papists have a way of ruining everything.). He was venerated (i.e., worshipped) yearly on December 6th by both the Greek and Latin churches. The celebration of St. Nicholas Day was important for a long time in the Low Countries and Rhine provinces; but the growing concentration of the winter festival on Christmass Day and the rise in importance of the Christmass tree during the last 200 years have caused the St. Nicholas customs to be absorbed into the Christmass celebration.
The myth of Santa from a Christian perspective is that the divine attributes of omniscience and omnipresence are attributed to him. Listen to that Christmass carol you know so well, “He knows when you are sleeping; he knows if you’re awake; he knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” What? It even tells us that “You better watch out…” Santa knows what everyone in the world is doing all year long, even in secret. He is described as a coming judge, maybe more akin to gangster muscle and as having the ability personally to deliver something good to billions of children in one night, or give them what their due is…a piece of dirty coal. The person of Santa, for young children who cannot differentiate fantasy from reality, cannot be construed as anything but idolatrous and dangerous. Santa is not for kids. Marvel’s Avengers is not for kids. The Wizard of Oz is not for kids. People regard Santa as cute and cuddly. Children regard him as a type of “god.” Christians ought, 1) never to lie to their children. “Thou shalt not bear false witness…” (Exod. 20:16). That seems to be an easy one. Do not lie to your children and tell them Santa is coming. Do not lie to your children and tell them he is bringing them gifts if they are good, and coal if they are bad. God alone is the judge of men, not the idol of Santa. 2) Do not manipulate your children based on works. It would be the same as sitting with them watching a Godzilla movie and then telling them that if they are bad, Godzilla will come and eat them. Would you tell your two year old and three year old children that? That is manipulation and witchcraft (Gal. 5:20). Parents ought never to have any association with lying or manipulating their children in that way. If they teach their children by lying and manipulation about Santa Claus, then they should also teach them about believing in Dagon, Molech, Ashteroth or Baal. It is the same thing in both cases. Instead, tell them the truth. Tell them Santa is not for kids. Tell them something else than lying to them. Don’t tell them there is a jolly fat man who rewards children with presents if they do something good. That is the works-based ideology of Roman Catholicism, Arminianism, and every other false religion since the dawn of time. Instead, develop a day of fun instead of trying to rescue or reclaim something that has no redeemable value at all.
C. Matthew McMahon. Bah Humbug: A Treatise on the Christmas Holiday.