"Placing your child on the lap of a fictional supernatural being and teaching them to ask for material prosperity is idolatry."
Christmas itself is the celebration of the birth of Christ story, not the Santa Claus story. The reason for the December date is not because Jesus Christ was indeed born on this day; the reason we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the winter solstice is because of the pagan influences in Roman culture centuries ago. The Roman rulers wanted the pagan peoples to adopt Christianity and join their societal unit so they could be unified under singular martial rule. The annual celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ was made to correlate with the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, so as to bring the people together, not necessarily in the spirit of unity so much as martial conformity. If holy days are aligned, holidays are aligned, and a society comprising many different belief systems is far easier to regulate. (Never mind the facts.)
But this is no diabolical accusation, rather, it is a recognition that such compilations of belief happen frequently. Most deities across a spectrum of religions share a common "birth date" of December 25 -- from Horus to Krishna, from Buddha to Osiris. (If you would like to explore this further, and much more, please read my article, The Common Origin of Religions and Theology.)
Jesus Christ was not born on December 25 -- the sun is reborn then.
Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of the deity Saturn. It was celebrated between December 17th--25th from as early as the 2nd century B.C., and likely well before then. Its exact origins are murky, but it is commonly accepted that Saturnalia was celebrated, in one form or another, centuries before Christmas and the birth of Christ, and honors the Sun winning the battle with the winter darkness and the days beginning to lengthen again. The celebration changed over the centuries, but a main characteristic was the killing of a sacrificial scapegoat, who was intoxicated with food and drink only to meet its demise when the solstice arrived. Such practices continued and developed throughout Europe over the centuries, and over time, Gypsy and Jewish people were frequently made the scapegoats, an early example of killing in the name of beliefs and deities, which continues to this day.
The tradition of decorating a tree was also appropriated from the traditions of Saturnalia (although the modern interpretation of decapitating one and bringing it indoors to wither is a little different from the celebration of life and nature this ritual once represented.)
Of course, all this does not mean Saturnalia, Christmas, Christianity or Paganism are inherently bad, it just means that any social construct can serve people who want to do bad things. It's no judgment, just fact: "naughty" people, usually through "naughty" institutions, have for centuries used all sorts of holy days (the etymological root of the term holiday) so as to capture the minds of some really "nice" people. They know how people think and thus, steer how people think, and institutionalize our collective thinking into a culture that does and accepts what they want as the norm, forgoing truth to a new, cultivated narrative -- without ever really questioning its purpose.
The Ultimate in 'Fake News'Since the fusion of Saturnalia practices into the tradition, the Christmas 'fake news' expanded with the creation and ultimately, the mass adoption of the Santa Claus story. Today, Jesus Christ arguably plays less of a role in the most people's Christmas celebrations than the Santa Clause story. Many people who celebrate Christmas are more acquainted with Santa Claus and his elves than Jesus and his Apostles. The majority who celebrate Christmas do not attend church or celebrate (their interpretation of) Jesus Christ any other time of the year, and only celebrate his 'birth' as an image, an archetype, without looking into the details of his life, death, and teachings.
In a sense the Santa Claus story is the biggest series of lies on the planet -- the mother of all 'fake news' -- because most of the white western world eats up and regurgitates it all cyclically. We all know it's a lie, but most of us don't question its effect on our children's psychological and spiritual development. The Santa Claus story is not the worst of the big lies, not by far; especially when compared to the lies that underpin the financial, political and education systems, energy and resources, nuclear experimentation, and countless other industries that destroy our Earth Mother; or to the lies that inspire people to kill on behalf of religious, or national institutions. But it is one of the big lies in our lives, and it does have an effect-- and arguably, a purpose.
It is a lie that has traveled farther than many others, and whether we care to accept it or not, has an adverse effects on the impressionable minds of many young people, preparing them for a life of ever-diminishing resistance to increasingly bigger lies of far greater significance as time goes on.
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Many children are left confused, many are even crushed to tears with the truth that Santa Claus does not exist. But the part of the process most difficult to defend is that our children learn, either in a moment of revelation or a period of increasing suspicion, that everyone has lied to them. And, just as their sense of magic and reality is put to the test, we ask children to help preserve the lie for others -- until, by ritual, the time of magic and wonder then expires for them, too.
Why do we persist with the Santa Claus mythology? Do we really need all the lies, the age limit, and the 'naughty or nice' behavioral rewarding to have a meaningful annual midwinter celebration? Instead, let's celebrate the true magic and wonder around us -- just as we did before Santa and Jesus began vying for our attention each December -- and make this time of year a time to honor the wondrous cycle of life, the turning of the seasons, and the abundance they bring. That's the kind of magic we can all rejoice in, together, for a lifetime.
A Holiday Hazing: The Santa Clause SyndromeBy Ethan Indigo Smith
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