![\"\"](\"http:\/\/our-hope.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Santa.jpg\" "\\"Santa\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nIn my last entry, I talked about Christmas memories and answered four questions about Christmas.\u00a0 Here are some more to add to the list.\u00a0 Some in my last post were personal.\u00a0 Here I give historical and ethical questions with potential ways to answer:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Who is the historical person behind our modern notions of Santa Claus?<\/p>\n
There are many historical strands that go into our modern invention of the character of Santa Claus.\u00a0 I once did a study of these historical threads and found it quite facinating.\u00a0 One of the pagan pictures that interject into our modern portrait is the false Norse god Odin.\u00a0 Note the table of comparison below:<\/a><\/p>\n
Saint Nicholas <\/strong><\/td>\n| Norse god Odin <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Long beard<\/td>\n | Long beard<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Rides in a sleigh driven by reindeer flying in the sky<\/td>\n | Rides a white horse in the sky<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Children have stockings by fireplace and leave food for Santa Claus<\/td>\n | Children would place boots by the fireplace with food for Odin\u2019s horse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Santa leaves gifts for children by fireplace<\/td>\n | Odin would replace the food with gifts or candy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | However, the one strand that I passed on most strongly to my children when they were growing up was the Christian personage of St. Nick or St. Nicholas, the fourth century Church Father who, according to some Christian traditions and\/or legends, attended Nicea and supported the orthodox trinitarian formulation over against the Arians.\u00a0 One can visit his tomb today.\u00a0 He was known in his lifetime for generosity.\u00a0 There was perhaps an inevitability that pagan examples of that (like Odin) would be conflated with traditions honoring this Church Father.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Is it possible to borrow pagan elements in culture (and pass them on down) without violating Christian ethics?\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a hard question for some.\u00a0 Let me illustrate with one particular Christmas tradition that is debated — the evergreen Christmas tree.\u00a0 We well know that Jehovah’s Witnesses say that Christians should not put up Christmas trees since they are pagan in origin.\u00a0 It is true that\u00a0near the time of\u00a0the Winter Solstice, some pagans(especially Scandinavian)\u00a0developed the tradition of putting up an oak tree in honor of the god Odin.\u00a0 However, as Christianity developed, Christians began to substitute the evergreen to give a distinctively Christian portrait of putting up a winter tree.\u00a0 So, in this case, the putting up of an evergreen Christmas tree does not seem to violate any Christian ethics.\u00a0 Bible passages such as Jeremiah 10, which are used to attack the practice of putting up Christmas trees, are talking about the putting up of trees idols.\u00a0 It is doubtful that the modern practice of putting up a tree has any semblance of idolatry in most Christian circles.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Can we (Christians) give new meaning to old forms in such an appropriation (Christmas trees, yule logs, etc.)?<\/p>\n I suggest that the answer is probably “yes.”\u00a0 Some of the days of the week are named after pagan gods.\u00a0 For example, Saturday is named after the god Saturn.\u00a0 In the earliest days when\u00a0Saturn’s\u00a0name was attached to a day of the week, no doubt pagans put a more serious connotation to the connection.\u00a0 Such a connotation does not exist today.\u00a0 We do not have to come up with another, Christian name for Saturday.\u00a0 We do not surrender to paganism when we call the day Saturday.\u00a0 An example might be possible from the Old Testament.\u00a0 On the lid of the ark of the covenant are carved figurines of cherubim.\u00a0 Does this violate the command not to make statues of any creatures?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 The command was not to make such figures with the purpose of worshipping them.\u00a0 God Himself commanded the Tabernacle to be made with such figures.\u00a0 Physical figures by themselves do not necessarily carry inherent meaning that is universal.\u00a0 It is the use to which they are put that matters most.\u00a0 This is not to say that Christians should be unthoughtful in such things.\u00a0 We must be careful and not cast aspersion on the gospel of Christ in any way.<\/p>\n 4.\u00a0 Does practicing the story of Santa in one’s Christian family constitute a pretend game with children or is it lying?<\/p>\n This is perhaps an ethical dilemma that bothers some Christians but many do not see this as a problem.\u00a0 Some are worried that it crosses the line.\u00a0 It would be a pretty big “pretend game” for all of life that might lend itself to children rejecting the invisible God they cannot see when they grow up.\u00a0 If parents have lied about Santa, maybe they have lied about God and Jesus.\u00a0 I see this as a gray area of wisdom application.\u00a0 Christians should acknowledge the liberty of conscience given to other believers on such issues even if emotions run strong on the issue.\u00a0 In my family, we allowed the symbols of Christmas with respect to Santa to exist but never talked in an absolutist way about them to our children.\u00a0 I told them early on the historical story of Saint Nicholas from the 4th century.\u00a0 By this means, I think we blunted the idea of a lie in the celebration of Christmas.\u00a0 There certainly was no worship of Santa at Christmas time in our house.<\/p>\n More Christmas memories on the way.\u00a0 Merry Christmas to all this Christmas Day 2012.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In my last entry, I talked about Christmas memories and answered four questions about Christmas.\u00a0 Here are some more to add to the list.\u00a0 Some in my last post were personal.\u00a0 Here I give historical and ethical questions with potential ways to answer: 1.\u00a0 Who is the historical person behind our modern notions of Santa 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