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Jolly Old Saint Nick

It should come as no surprise to anyone with ‘eyes to see’ and ‘ears to hear’ that the concept of Father Christmas is a secular attempt to deflect attention away from the Christian celebration of Jesus’ birth.

In fact, I would suggest that the image of Santa Claus is one of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

One particular website has dedicated a whole analysis of just how counterfeit Santa is.

Mistletoe and Wine

But again, we shouldn’t be surprised: this is really just a way of bringing us back to the reality of the Roman celebrations of Sol Invictus which existed before the Catholic Church assumed December 25th as its Christ Mass.

And the Druids celebrated the Winter Solstice as a way to help their Celtic peoples get through the darkest period of the year. Our modern images of Christmas cheer are really just pale imitations of their potent symbols: decorated fir trees; Yule logs in the fire; mistletoe hung indoors; and of course, mulled wine to drink our good health.

Commercialism

Every time Santa takes a swig from his Coke bottle, cash registers the world over start to ring out, “It’s Christmas!”

The Christian churches have tried to bring us back to the true meaning by reminding us to put Christ back into Christmas, but it really is a circular argument. And now it’s even become more politically correct to say, “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays”, rather than “Merry Christmas” (or “Merry Xmas” as it’s more likely to be written).

So let me leave you with a clip from “Miracle on 34th Street” which may forever tie Kris Kringle in our minds with God, as the giver of all good things:

Merry Ho Ho, folks.