Recently, a six year old with sandy blond hair tied up in pigtails, asked me, with a look of hope in her large brown eyes, “Is God Santa Claus?” She had struggled for the last week with the idea of entities with two different names who could give her what she asked for every night before falling into a deep, safe sleep. It was apparent that if God and Santa were the same, then it all made sense and she really, really needed it to make sense. Without the heart to tell her that they weren’t, the truth of the matter seemed to put her to rest.
You may have a similar conflict. The Christmas season, often brings with it some disagreement about whether it is a religious holiday or more recently, just a commercial reason for materialism. Some ask, “Are we worshipping God or Santa?” Let’s break them both down and have a look at the dilemma.
Whether you refer to God as a being, an energy, or a promise keeper, there is always an idea that God is the one that we call upon in time of need or desire. We put our trust in what we consider to be God and ask with all of our hearts. Sometimes we ask for what we want in detailed, full color motion pictures and in a loud enthusiastic voice, to be sure the God gets the message loud and clear. Sometimes, we even think about our desire and notice how we will feel when we gratefully receive the new bike or the pair of earrings. You have a sense that if you are good, and clear in your asking, that you will receive your desire, and so you try to live in a spiritual way. And whether you are a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Shaman or spiritual but not religious, the same concepts occur, even though the names of the deities you commune with have different names.
Now let’s take Santa, a myth that developed over time, differently in different countries, at different times with various names, and diverse images. In Pittsburgh, we have a rich display of Santa statues from around the world, located at the PPG building and skating rink, displaying the tale of how Santa is viewed from Michigan to Morocco. There is a different idea of an unseen, but known, Santa by children around the world. And the hope that various Santas can grant a wish or desire is strong no matter where you are from. The Santas help to remind us that seeing how we are all alike rather than different, supports the true meaning of Christmas.
So Rachel wants to know if God and Santa are different. They are different in an important way, (which we will get to soon) but they both bring us around to who we really are, what we really want, and how faith and trust bring many things to pass. So this year, we will shop and wrap for children to bring joy from Santa, visit a Bethlehem exhibit at a local Lutheran church, attend a multi-denominal ceremony at a Hindu temple, attended by Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and Buddhist monks for the purpose of honoring those whose lives were taken at the Tree of Life Synagogue this year, say a pray in nature, and go to mass for Christmas, soaking up and sharing all of the love that is flowing from the hearts of those around us at this time of year.
Seeing how we are all alike rather than different has always been a big part of the holidays for us. So what is the true meaning of Christmas? Treat others as you would want to be treated is the golden rule and relevant commandment. It recognizes the God in everyone. And now for the big difference, between God and Santa: (drum roll, confetti falling from the sky, the sound of cherubs off in the distance) Santa is a human form of the all-giving deity, so by definition imperfect. God brings you what you need without a naughty or nice list, without fear of a lump of coal, or without having to be perfect and sometimes God brings you lessons. Yet God’s love is unconditional. So the answer, Rachel, is just ask and you will receive.
Dedicated to all of the Catholics, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Shamans, Spiritualists children and anyone I forgot around the world.
God Bless, Namaste, and Munay,
Dr. Nancy