The True Meaning of the False Meaning of Christmas

Folks in the media who lament the commercialisation of the traditionally Christian festival, Christmas, will often frame it as being about "Santa vs. Jesus." Jesus's birth of course, is the origin of the festival, a time of giving an reflection, but to many secular people, Santa, a personification of the giving of gifts, is the centre of the season, a symbol of receiving, not giving, and of celebration and indulgence.

I don't really lament the commercialisation of Christmas the way some people do, apart from jokingly saying to anti-religious people that they're cashing in on a Christian festival. I think the point people who do get annoyed about it are trying to make, however, is that Christmas is a time for thinking of others, not of yourself. The intense overdoing of it in the shops etc. makes it easy to associate the commercial side of Christmas with this idea of a selfish celebration. I can't pretend that I don't feel it a little bit ridiculous how early the festivities begin. Songs in October and decorations in September.

But I think you can lament the selfish nature of many people at Christmas without associating it with a replacement of Christianity with Santa. In the film, 'How the Grinch stole Christmas,' for example, the Whos of Whoville are not Christians, they're Christmas has no religious foundation, yet the plot of that film shows them learning the true meaning of Christmas goes beyond the many decorations and presents stolen by the Grinch in an effort to steal Christmas itself.

But lets return to the idea of Santa/Father Christmas for a moment, in light of this. Because the argument that he represents people forgetting what Christmas is all about eludes me somewhat. Remember, after all, that the character has his origins in a Christian Saint, St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was somebody who secretly gave gifts to the poor. His generosity without any need for recognition or asking for anything in return is truly a representation of the true meaning of Christmas, and indeed the original Christian meaning. But I suppose that isn't comparable to the modern day Santa Claus, because every child on Christmas eve, and in the lead up to Christmas, knows that Santa is the one delivering their presents. Yes, there's a moral attachment with the idea of a naughty or nice list, but it isn't really the same meaning as the original St. Nick's actions, or the real meaning of Christmas.

Except that isn't quite the case, though, is it. Because Santa (sorry to anybody who wasn't aware) isn't real. Every year, thousands of parents give their children gifts and get no thanks in return, because the children believe that a man in a big red suit bought them the gifts. Now, I know that for many parents the smile on their children's faces is enough, but there is still a lesson, I think, about the nature of giving and receiving and the true meaning of Christmas, from the child's perspective. At some point in their young life, when exactly depends, I suppose, on how cynical they are, a child realises that there is no such thing as Santa. That their parents did it the whole time. Some people argue that it is morally wrong to tell children about Santa because it is technically lying. And then you have people like Richard Dawkins who will tell children he isn't real because facts are more important than anything. I imagine these people are a right laugh at childrens' Christmas parties . . .

For anyone who has the audacity to read between the lines, there is this message of Christmas. And that is that about the same age that a child starts to think for themselves and become self-aware of their actions and decisions, they learn the true meaning of Christmas was about giving, not receiving, because it didn't matter to the parents whether or not they were thanked. It's an important learning curve, and means that Santa, at the end of the day, represents the true meaning of Christmas.