No where in scripture does is say to celebrate Christmas.

[butterfly]

we have a countdown calendar from dec 1-dec 24th. each night a child opens that days' matchbox, which has a family activity inside like "kids do tricks/ show-off and mom and dad take pictures of them" or "turn on a favorite song and everybody dance". Then another child unwraps a book (i wrap 24 books beforehand) and we read it together. Some nights the calendar activity is to open a gift that i've hidden in their stocking. I do this b/c 1- we don't want to spend a lot of money on gifts so a small toy works great in their stocking. 2- if they get presents 1x/week, instead of all in one day, then they really enjoy that 1 toy much more and the fun lasts the whole month.

We also give gifts to Jesus. I have a gift bag and when someone does something kind for another, they write it down/draw a picture and put it in the gift bag. On Christmas day we take out all the pieces of paper and read about the gifts we gave to Jesus for His b.day all month long.

I tell my kids that santa claus is a representation of Heavenly Father, who gives us everything, including His Son, and who can take care of the whole world all in the same night, etc.

[Dash jones]

we have a countdown calendar from dec 1-dec 24th. each night a child opens that days' matchbox, which has a family activity inside like "kids do tricks/ show-off and mom and dad take pictures of them" or "turn on a favorite song and everybody dance". Then another child unwraps a book (i wrap 24 books beforehand) and we read it together. Some nights the calendar activity is to open a gift that i've hidden in their stocking. I do this b/c 1- we don't want to spend a lot of money on gifts so a small toy works great in their stocking. 2- if they get presents 1x/week, instead of all in one day, then they really enjoy that 1 toy much more and the fun lasts the whole month.

We also give gifts to Jesus. I have a gift bag and when someone does something kind for another, they write it down/draw a picture and put it in the gift bag. On Christmas day we take out all the pieces of paper and read about the gifts we gave to Jesus for His b.day all month long.

I tell my kids that santa claus is a representation of Heavenly Father, who gives us everything, including His Son, and who can take care of the whole world all in the same night, etc.

Those sound like awesome ideas!

[skmo]

Santa is a fictitious lie.

Dude, eat a Snickers. You get a bit cranky when you're hungry.

They always new it was a lie? Or did you not lie?
Or did you let others teach the lie and you just went along tell they figured it out then told the truth?

It's not a lie it's a story. Did you lie to your children and tell them a girl dressed in red got eaten by a wolf just because she took food to her sick grandmother? Did you lie to them about a cat in a hat that you read them while they sat? I honestly don't ever remember finding out the "truth" about Santa because I don't believe we were ever told the story. My folks were very open and honest with me, I know they wanted me to trust them about their love for me even though I was adopted.

If there is a way to teach satan claws without lying I'm all ears.

Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Rudolph video night, then a family home evening about why we celebrate Christmas, the story of St. Nicholas, Scandinavian Yule, or LOOK HERE for more holiday traditions to study together.

[Ezra]

It's a lie when you pass it off as truth.

You all can defend your lie anyways you choose. Does not change that it's a lie.

[Fiannan]

It's not a lie it's a story. Did you lie to your children and tell them a girl dressed in red got eaten by a wolf just because she took food to her sick grandmother?

You do realize the original story is like a combination of Twilight and 50 Shades, right?

I do not think she died in the original story though. In all the grandmother is eaten but in some the woodsman cuts the wolf open and saves her and in others not.

[Ezra]

we have a countdown calendar from dec 1-dec 24th. each night a child opens that days' matchbox, which has a family activity inside like "kids do tricks/ show-off and mom and dad take pictures of them" or "turn on a favorite song and everybody dance". Then another child unwraps a book (i wrap 24 books beforehand) and we read it together. Some nights the calendar activity is to open a gift that i've hidden in their stocking. I do this b/c 1- we don't want to spend a lot of money on gifts so a small toy works great in their stocking. 2- if they get presents 1x/week, instead of all in one day, then they really enjoy that 1 toy much more and the fun lasts the whole month.

We also give gifts to Jesus. I have a gift bag and when someone does something kind for another, they write it down/draw a picture and put it in the gift bag. On Christmas day we take out all the pieces of paper and read about the gifts we gave to Jesus for His b.day all month long.

I tell my kids that santa claus is a representation of Heavenly Father, who gives us everything, including His Son, and who can take care of the whole world all in the same night, etc.

I don't understand why we need to substitute Santa for Christ. Or God.

Why not teach your kids why God gives to us and there for we should? Why the lie of a fictitious man who does not exist being like God.
If we lie to our children about Santa. How can they trust us about Christ?

That was my exsperiance when I found out my parents lied to me about Santa. I didn't believe or would strongly question anything my parents told me for a long while tell they built back up my trust. Not a great thing to do to a 8 year old who just got baptized.
I won't do that to my kids. There is a better way to still have fun without the lie.

My kids are getting a book each day to unwrap and read leading up to Christmas and then on Christmas we are going to give gifts to the poor.

[Robert Sinclair]

"Give gifts to the poor", hey what do you know, the same thing the young boy who grew up to become known as St Nicholas did.♡

[Ezra]

"Give gifts to the poor", hey what do you know, the same thing the young boy who grew up to become known as St Nicholas did.♡

Yes set a good example. He is a real person and worth teaching about.

Santa is a lie. St Nicholas is not.

Both are a distraction during Christs birthday celebration.

That's all I'm trying to say and point out.

Our savior made it possible to recive a remission of our sins and return to our Heavenly Father kingdom. What our savior did is something so special that no one else could have done. No one else.

What st nick did was a good acts of kindness and charity that anyone could do. And there have been many who have done as he did.

Why has the world chosen to single out and glorify/ make a fictitious lies about st. Nick. And celebrate on Christ birthday over Christ or even next to???

The acts of st nick don't even compare to our savoirs. And yet the world has put him befor Christ at Christmas. Or has even taken Christ out of Christmas and made it Xmas.


We lds are told in scripture to be a peculiar people. We are to be a light to shine unto the world.

If we are doing the things of the world or going along side and with them. We are not being or doing or standing where we should to be that guiding light.


A good friend of mine. Ward missionary invited a few none members to their Christ centered ward Christmas party.
A well intended member dresses up as Santa and came uninvited. When he came they left and never came back. 3 none member family's
They told him later almost the same thing that they were looking for a church that taught truth. Not lies.
That well intended member "Santa" blocked them from being interested in the church by setting a example of the members being "of the world. " and they were looking for a church that was not.

So why is it that we feel the need as members of his church to celebrate a lie on Christs birthday celebration?

Why are we doing the "things of the world and want the things of the world" which is what keeps us from being (chosen) as D&c 121:33-40 says?


The only answer I can see is satan has set up "Santa" one letter out of place to satan. To distract from Christ and replace Christ during christmas.
And it has worked so well that the majority of lds defend Santa/ satan in doing so.

Satan wants us to want our imperfections and sins. He wants us to want a path that is not gods.

He makes that path look so good/fun appealing and innocent.

Can anyone honestly say that it's ok to lie? That Christ would want them to? Or tell half truths?

I was once taught in church that if doing something has a negitive because it would cause you to sin. It's not of God.

So I challenge you all to take a peice of paper and make a pro vs cons of celebrating Santa.

And a seperate paper of pro vs cons of celebrating Christ.

I would love to hear what the outcome is.

[ajax]

JWFF?

C'mon folks

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

I have nothing but fond memories of Christmas. Shall we walk around as a pre-enilghtened Scrooge, crowing humbug on the season? Or shall we see the light as post-enilightened Scrooge and spread cheer and goodwill to our fellows?

Celebrating the Commercialism of Christmas:
http://www.newcoolthang.com/index.php/2 ... tmas/2939/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is nothing more predictable and cliche than the yearly denouncement of consumerism at Christmas. The Pope condemned the commercialization of Christmas at the Christmas Eve Mass last night and President Monson bemoaned the commercialization at Christmas at the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional this year.

I think this yearly antagonism toward commercialism is wrong-headed and misguided. It ignores the nature of holidays, and ultimately, human nature as well. The criticism is generally based on the idea that in all the consumerism and commercialism we lose sight of the “true meaning of Christmas” and forget what Christmas is really “all about.” Nothing could be farther from the truth.

If you think about holidays for a moment, you will quickly realize that holidays are made by the traditions that surround them. Holidays with no traditions are not really holidays at all. The best holidays are the ones with the best (and most) traditions. Thanksgiving revolves around a big dinner, Halloween around costumes and trick-or-treating, the 4th of July around fireworks, Easter around baskets of candy and egg hunts. In a real sense, these traditions are the holiday. The second tier holidays have less traditions or traditions with a more limited appeal: St. Patrick’s day and wearing green clothes, Valentine’s day and giving chocolate to our wives and mistresses, April Fool’s day and playing tricks on people. Then there are the holidays with no widespread traditions surrounding them other than getting the day off school/work: Memorial day, Labor day, Columbus day, etc.

The impact of the holiday is directly proportional to the traditions that surround it. The impact is not just due to the existence of a tradition, but the nature of the tradition itself comes into play. Traditions that require more planning will have a bigger impact simply because we spend more time and attention getting ready for the holiday. Traditions with wide appeal will lead to a bigger holiday (costumes are funner than wearing green, which helps Halloween over St. Patrick’s day). There is additional weight to the holiday when the thing celebrated is of deeper significance (compare Memorial Day and Labor Day). It adds weight to the holiday when the traditions are congruent with the thing celebrated (Valentines Day+, Easter-).

It is instructive to compare the holiday observance of Christmas to Easter. Arguably, Easter is the holiday with the greater religious significance, but Easter is vastly surpassed by Christmas in our cultural and religious lives generally because of the differences in the traditions surrounding them. Easter traditions are obviously much less extensive than those at Christmas. The Easter traditions do not have a very wide appeal (Easter egg hunts are only fun for kids and even then not that fun. Peeps are treasured by a few sick souls, but most of us realize they are vile). The Easter bunny has no meaningful connection with the resurrection of Jesus. Most of Easter revolves around candy which is entirely commonplace. There are few if any beloved Easter songs. The question is: with Easter being less commercialized, is our observance of Christ’s resurrection more meaningful, pure, and complete than our observance of Christ’s birth? I think the answer is an emphatic and obvious “no!” Those who decry the commercialization of Christmas just fail to see the way Christmas is enhanced and embiggened by the traditions they denounce. If they had their way they would destroy the very parts of Christmas they themselves love.

Let’s think about how great Christmas is as a holiday. It has tons of traditions surrounding it including the most obvious tradition of gift-giving. We spend tons of time figuring out what we are going to give to others, purchasing gifts, and wrapping gifts. As a result we spend a whole month thinking about Christmas, seeing signs in every store that it is the Christmas season, and hearing Christmas songs when we are shopping. Most families have traditions surrounding their Christmas meals. Christmas has the best (and by far the most) holiday songs of any holiday. The traditions of Christmas have immense appeal even across religious and cultural boundaries (I was just talking with someone at work from another country who is not Christian and not American but will be observing a host of Christmas traditions this year because his children have been swept up in the cultural observance of Christmas and are demanding it!). The traditions surrounding Christmas are wonderfully congruent with the thing celebrated. This last point deserves its own paragraph.

Easter is the poster child for holidays with traditions that don’t match the thing celebrated. Its Bunny and colorful eggs don’t remind us at all of the resurrection of Christ. Attempts to link the two are strained and weak. Christmas, to the contrary, is positively enhanced by the tradition of gift-giving (which is the target of the anti-commercialization crowd). Giving gifts to others is a huge part of the Christmas spirit that everyone loves. In giving gifts we focus on the people around us and we have to think about them and what they might want (there is no standby gift of flowers/chocolate like on Valentine’s Day). Gift-giving spills over to a focus on lifting up the weary and oppressed. My largely atheist and non-Christian group of coworkers pool money every Christmas season to adopt-a-family and provide presents for a family in need. More people visit nursing homes during the Christmas season than at other times of the year.

Could this spirit of giving exist without all the consumerism and buying of gift? Sure, it is logically possible, but I would point out that it doesn’t accompany Easter. I think a big part of the reason is that as we anticipate a wonderful Christmas morning for ourselves with presents and fun, we think of others and want to give them some of the same Christmas cheer we anticipate. Santa, as opposed to the Easter Bunny, is a perfect secular stand-in for Christ as he keeps track of who is naughty and nice, dispensing gifts to all good children (which turns out to be everyone) and coal to the naughty. It is simply no stretch at all to see in Christmas giving a shadow of our Savior who gave himself and his Father who loved the world and gave his only begotten Son.

So your not following the prophet on this one??

You mean as in bemoaning Christmas commercialism?

Mr Subliminal says:

"You're City Creek Mall kidding right?"

mr subliminal.jpg (8.83 KiB) Viewed 1013 times

What a wonderful thing that masses of people think about others and purchase gifts for others and that the market supplies such abundance of options all in the name of Christmas. Gift giving, celebration, joy...To bad we don't do it all year round.

[Robert Sinclair]

Take a list and check it twice, I was told as a little child, that the prophets today, speak in the temples with angels like Moroni, and meet in person with Jesus Christ and with God, as did Joseph Smith.

Now when I grew up I found out this to was a fairy tale, and not true today in my life upon this earth, should I be upset with my parents, who were told by others the same story, over and over again?

Now finally President Hinkley made this clear, in an interview I saw, that face to face meetings as Joseph Smith had, were no longer the case, but by the still small voice, bless him for telling the truth.

Some still believe that meetings are held in secret, face to face, as I have been told by my own relatives some gone on missions to spread this belief among others.

Some things go on and on for ages, stories and tales to tell that just are not true.

But to believe in Jesus Christ takes faith, something not seen, nor to have witnessed face to face, but from feelings in the heart after hearing and reading of such, and doing and becoming as Jesus Christ said to do and to be like and to come to know.

Many upon this earth still do not believe.

Faith, hope and charity, wonderful things to have, along with justness and righteousness, a plant of rectitude and of holiness.

Yes, how blessed are they Jesus Christ said, that believe in the scriptures written of him, and yet have not as yet seen him, but humble themselves and follow after him, becoming like him.♡

So was the young boy named Nicholas, who grew up to be called and known as St Nicholas, a true follower of Jesus Christ.♡

[Ezra]

Yes he is a follower of Christ but he is not Christ.

So why does the world celebrate him on Christmas and not Christ except for a few?

[Robert Sinclair]

I think most Christians, if not all, celebrate Jesus Christ, at this time of year, through songs, as well as remembering his birth.

That's why you see so many mangers set up with wise men coming to see him, bearing gifts.♡

[skmo]

Santa is a lie. St Nicholas is not.

It's not a lie, it's a story. A S-T-O-R-Y. We tell kids a lot of different stories. They're not lies, they're stories. When a person is a boneheaded enough to present it as a truth, that makes them a bonehead, but it doesn't mean we can't tell our kids the truth of Christmas: Yule, Winter Solstice, St. Nick, and there's even room for Father Christmas, a fictional character that embodies the spirit of giving, especially to children.

Just because people have gotten greedy and commercialized the season of giving, it's no cause for us to abandon the tradition of celebration. We celebrate the giving of gifts, and the most precious gift of all is that we were given a Savior.

[Robin Hood]

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a Scrouge when it comes to Christmas.
I cannot stand all of the commercialism and stupidness (I know the word should be stupidity but I think stupidness is more accurate) that surrounds it. I just cannot bear it.

The Lord asked us to do one thing in remembrance of him and that was to take the sacrament.
He didn't ask us to cut down a tree and decorate it (which originates with Nimrod), or to exchange presents, or to feast, or to eat egg shaped chocolate at Easter etc.
It's all ridiculous.

[Todd]

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a Scrouge when it comes to Christmas.
I cannot stand all of the commercialism and stupidness (I know the word should be stupidity but I think stupidness is more accurate) that surrounds it. I just cannot bear it.

The Lord asked us to do one thing in remembrance of him and that was to take the sacrament.
He didn't ask us to cut down a tree and decorate it (which originates with Nimrod), or to exchange presents, or to feast, or to eat egg shaped chocolate at Easter etc.
It's all ridiculous.

You forgot, "Bah Humbug!" ;)

[skmo]

Yes he is a follower of Christ but he is not Christ.

So why does the world celebrate him on Christmas and not Christ except for a few?

If a person is not a Christian, they may not feel a need to celebrate Christ's birth. For Christians, I honestly don't know any who don't celebrate Christ. Yes, we have songs about Rudolph and Frosty and The Night Before Christmas, but even more songs and even carols about Joy to the World, Oh Come all Ye Faithful, Little Town of Bethlehem, Silent Night, The First Noel, O Holy Night, Hark the Herald Angels, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, and even one form a dude named Handel specifically titled "Messiah."

There are even songs celebrating the celebrations themselves: Winter Wonderland, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Sleigh Ride, There's No Place like Home for the Holidays, and I'll be Home for Christmas.

So be of good cheer, after all, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

[Sirocco]

I made up my own holiday, I got annoyed with people telling me how Christmas should be, so I tossed it aside and made Siv Day.
I also made a lot of mythos behind it, which I will not put here.
The cards I have made generally make jabs at Christmas and Hanukkah.

[skmo]

...He didn't ask us to cut down a tree and decorate it (which originates with Nimrod)

I'm impressed. I haven't heard anyone else put this out there, a point I learned back in High School.

[Ezra]

We have been warned about following the vain and foolish traditions of our fathers.

We have been warned to have no other gods or idols befor God.

Worshipping is putting thought and energy into something.

People can worship Christ or money, cars ,houses ,Santa ,war,TV, sports teams, and so on.

You can put thought and energy into making a living or buying a house or car or what ever all while worshiping God. It's all about what you place the importants on. The desires on.

If the money and house and so on are meaningless to you. Just a place to live or a way to travel to and from point a-b and you have an eye single to the glory of God awesome.

It's what you desire.

If you truly desire to celebrate Christs birth. Show him. He is taking note.

If you desire to celebrate another what does that say?

We don't even set aside a day to celebrate our prophet. I would do that over santa.

I think it all boils down to will we stand and be counted? Or will we like lemmings go along with the world for the cliff?

I'm not saying that only for the celebration of Christmas.
It's a question I ask myself constantly to help me not to have a desire for the things of the world.

[braingrunt]

We've decided not to let our kids be deceived about Santa. He still makes a little bit of an appearance in our Christmas season though.

[Sirocco]

We've decided not to let our kids be deceived about Santa. He still makes a little bit of an appearance in our Christmas season though.

I always found Santa a fun idea, I mean in my cards he's portrayed as a villain but that's just the spirit of my holiday...

Ah what a joyous season...

[David13]

Quote Ezra:
"People can worship Christ or money, cars ,houses ,Santa ,war,TV, sports teams, and so on. "

Ezra, I do not agree that is the truth. The truth is most or all of us worship God the Father and Jesus Christ, and we enjoy or use as tools the money, the car, the house, the tv and so on. And enjoy Santa as entertainment.
And I don't think we worship war. I don't think any of us do that.
dc

[kennyhs]

Quote Ezra:
"People can worship Christ or money, cars ,houses ,Santa ,war,TV, sports teams, and so on. "

Ezra, I do not agree that is the truth. The truth is most or all of us worship God the Father and Jesus Christ, and we enjoy or use as tools the money, the car, the house, the tv and so on. And enjoy Santa as entertainment.
And I don't think we worship war. I don't think any of us do that.
dc

You have much wisdom!

[kennyhs]

JWFF?

C'mon folks

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

I have nothing but fond memories of Christmas. Shall we walk around as a pre-enilghtened Scrooge, crowing humbug on the season? Or shall we see the light as post-enilightened Scrooge and spread cheer and goodwill to our fellows?

Celebrating the Commercialism of Christmas:
http://www.newcoolthang.com/index.php/2 ... tmas/2939/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is nothing more predictable and cliche than the yearly denouncement of consumerism at Christmas. The Pope condemned the commercialization of Christmas at the Christmas Eve Mass last night and President Monson bemoaned the commercialization at Christmas at the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional this year.

I think this yearly antagonism toward commercialism is wrong-headed and misguided. It ignores the nature of holidays, and ultimately, human nature as well. The criticism is generally based on the idea that in all the consumerism and commercialism we lose sight of the “true meaning of Christmas” and forget what Christmas is really “all about.” Nothing could be farther from the truth.

If you think about holidays for a moment, you will quickly realize that holidays are made by the traditions that surround them. Holidays with no traditions are not really holidays at all. The best holidays are the ones with the best (and most) traditions. Thanksgiving revolves around a big dinner, Halloween around costumes and trick-or-treating, the 4th of July around fireworks, Easter around baskets of candy and egg hunts. In a real sense, these traditions are the holiday. The second tier holidays have less traditions or traditions with a more limited appeal: St. Patrick’s day and wearing green clothes, Valentine’s day and giving chocolate to our wives and mistresses, April Fool’s day and playing tricks on people. Then there are the holidays with no widespread traditions surrounding them other than getting the day off school/work: Memorial day, Labor day, Columbus day, etc.

The impact of the holiday is directly proportional to the traditions that surround it. The impact is not just due to the existence of a tradition, but the nature of the tradition itself comes into play. Traditions that require more planning will have a bigger impact simply because we spend more time and attention getting ready for the holiday. Traditions with wide appeal will lead to a bigger holiday (costumes are funner than wearing green, which helps Halloween over St. Patrick’s day). There is additional weight to the holiday when the thing celebrated is of deeper significance (compare Memorial Day and Labor Day). It adds weight to the holiday when the traditions are congruent with the thing celebrated (Valentines Day+, Easter-).

It is instructive to compare the holiday observance of Christmas to Easter. Arguably, Easter is the holiday with the greater religious significance, but Easter is vastly surpassed by Christmas in our cultural and religious lives generally because of the differences in the traditions surrounding them. Easter traditions are obviously much less extensive than those at Christmas. The Easter traditions do not have a very wide appeal (Easter egg hunts are only fun for kids and even then not that fun. Peeps are treasured by a few sick souls, but most of us realize they are vile). The Easter bunny has no meaningful connection with the resurrection of Jesus. Most of Easter revolves around candy which is entirely commonplace. There are few if any beloved Easter songs. The question is: with Easter being less commercialized, is our observance of Christ’s resurrection more meaningful, pure, and complete than our observance of Christ’s birth? I think the answer is an emphatic and obvious “no!” Those who decry the commercialization of Christmas just fail to see the way Christmas is enhanced and embiggened by the traditions they denounce. If they had their way they would destroy the very parts of Christmas they themselves love.

Let’s think about how great Christmas is as a holiday. It has tons of traditions surrounding it including the most obvious tradition of gift-giving. We spend tons of time figuring out what we are going to give to others, purchasing gifts, and wrapping gifts. As a result we spend a whole month thinking about Christmas, seeing signs in every store that it is the Christmas season, and hearing Christmas songs when we are shopping. Most families have traditions surrounding their Christmas meals. Christmas has the best (and by far the most) holiday songs of any holiday. The traditions of Christmas have immense appeal even across religious and cultural boundaries (I was just talking with someone at work from another country who is not Christian and not American but will be observing a host of Christmas traditions this year because his children have been swept up in the cultural observance of Christmas and are demanding it!). The traditions surrounding Christmas are wonderfully congruent with the thing celebrated. This last point deserves its own paragraph.

Easter is the poster child for holidays with traditions that don’t match the thing celebrated. Its Bunny and colorful eggs don’t remind us at all of the resurrection of Christ. Attempts to link the two are strained and weak. Christmas, to the contrary, is positively enhanced by the tradition of gift-giving (which is the target of the anti-commercialization crowd). Giving gifts to others is a huge part of the Christmas spirit that everyone loves. In giving gifts we focus on the people around us and we have to think about them and what they might want (there is no standby gift of flowers/chocolate like on Valentine’s Day). Gift-giving spills over to a focus on lifting up the weary and oppressed. My largely atheist and non-Christian group of coworkers pool money every Christmas season to adopt-a-family and provide presents for a family in need. More people visit nursing homes during the Christmas season than at other times of the year.

Could this spirit of giving exist without all the consumerism and buying of gift? Sure, it is logically possible, but I would point out that it doesn’t accompany Easter. I think a big part of the reason is that as we anticipate a wonderful Christmas morning for ourselves with presents and fun, we think of others and want to give them some of the same Christmas cheer we anticipate. Santa, as opposed to the Easter Bunny, is a perfect secular stand-in for Christ as he keeps track of who is naughty and nice, dispensing gifts to all good children (which turns out to be everyone) and coal to the naughty. It is simply no stretch at all to see in Christmas giving a shadow of our Savior who gave himself and his Father who loved the world and gave his only begotten Son.

" Oh Ed, you sounded like Dirty Harry just then."

[Fiannan]

...He didn't ask us to cut down a tree and decorate it (which originates with Nimrod)

I'm impressed. I haven't heard anyone else put this out there, a point I learned back in High School.

It goes further but this is a PG oriented forum. ;)