I have wrestled with the idea of Santa Claus since my rebirth in Christ; I wondered to myself "is he an 'emissary of God'"-- which is what I want to believe with all my heart, or "is he our 'adversary'...a product of satan?"  I came to the conclusion that it is possible that he can be both, depending how he is introduced. 

I was very blessed to have parents who taught me from when I can first remember that Christmas was all about the 'baby Jesus'.  Santa, who loved all boys and girls with all his heart, brought us joy by the gifts he gave us; he loved 'baby' Jesus' the most, and it was a celebration of his birth/day.  So if I was to interject my most humble opinion, I would say that I believe Santa can't be our adversary, because he is good, a saint of Christ, and his love is representative of God's love.

As I grew up, there were two things that I longed to see at Christmas, the Christmas story re-enactment with the newborn baby in our church and his parents, and 'Santa Claus' at Bellas Hess (a dept. store we shopped at).  The Christmas season was made more majical, and mystical when I would set my baby blues on Santa.  My heart would drop, and my stomach would be filled with the butterflies of excitement as I stood in line waiting for my chance to sit on Santa's knee. He always so gently pulled me up on his knee, ho-ho-ho'd, then in a gentle voice would ask if I had been a good girl...of course, I wouldn't tell HIM I WAS BAD! --Always a good girl--  Then the moment--the very moment I had been waiting for--came when he would ask 'if there was anything Santa Claus could bring for me'.  Boy!  I think the Saint got an ear full...practically all the back pages in the Sears catalogue that advertised the 'girly toys'.  Sometimes he would have to cut me off, and ask me to write a letter to him...I suppose, because there were other little boys and girls waiting to see him.

I loved the idea of Santa Claus...especially on Christmas morning when all those beautiful, some huge, packages would be crowding around the tree (4 kids)--Santa had been to OUR house!  I would breathe a sigh of relief that he didn't see me that one night I played a dirty trick on my little brother, and got in trouble...or any number of other times I wasn't up to 'my shiny halo' good self. WHEW!

Even now, at the age of 46, when I see the 'Mall' Santa Claus, I get all twitter-pated--to the dismay of my children.  The little kid in me just comes out, and I, excitedly, have to say hi to Santa.  He always waves back to me.  When I turn to rejoin my family, including my husband, they are no where to be found. "What?  I had to say hi to Santa!  He's only here once a year!" *giggling*

So in my humble opinion something that brings ME that much joy can't be evil, but must be born out of the love, joy, and the sharing of Jesus Christ.  I am sure that some children grow up never knowing the true St. Nickolaus.  The one who Santa Claus is based on. He who loved Christ so much that he gave up all his wealth to share his love and joy with others.  I read that he was the youngest man to become a Bishop.  I love all the folklore surrounding him, and how different regions identified this man with some sort of tradition of the jolly ol' fellar.

I had seen this in a figurine.  I love it and it is on my 'page'.  It is so sweet to think that the omniscent God poured into flesh should be prayed over by His precious servant, the omniscent Santa Claus.

"Santa's Prayer On Christmas Eve"

The sleigh was all packed, the reindeer were fed,
But Santa still knelt by the side of the bed.
"Dear Father," he prayed "Be with me tonight.
There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.
I must jump in my sleigh and streak through the sky,
Knowing full well that a reindeer can't fly.
I will visit each household before the first light,
I'll cover the world and all in one night.
With sleigh bells a-ringing, I'll land on each roof,
Amid the soft clatter of each little hoof.
To get in the house is the difficult part,
So I'll slide down the chimney of each child's heart.
My sack will hold toys to grant all their wishes.

The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.
I will fill all the stockings and not leave a track.
I'll eat every cookie that is left for my snack.
I can do all these things Lord, only through You,
I just need your blessing, then it's easy to do.
All this is to honor the birth of the One,
That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.
So to all of my friends, least Your glory I rob,
Please Lord, remind them who gave me this job."

By Warren D. Jennings
 http://jsmagic.net/xmassantasprayer/

You can find more info on the 'History of Santa Claus or St. Nickolaus at thes web sites.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35

http://www.thehollandring.com/truestory.shtml

http://www.the-north-pole.com/history/

http://www.claus.com/village.php

Legend has it that in the 18th Century somewhere in Europe any public display of Christianity was forbidden. No crosses or Bibles were allowed and the Christians were greatly oppressed. One old man, a candy maker by profession, was particularly distressed by this. He loved the Lord with all of his heart and couldn't stand to not share that love with the world. His heart especially went out to the children when Christmas drew near and no one was allowed to have a nativity scene (or crèche`) on display in their homes. He prayed for God to show him some way to make Christmas gifts for the children which would teach them the story of Christ.

The answer was the candy cane. The candy cane was in the shape of a shepherd"s staff to show them  Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His flock. A sheep follows his own shepherd, knows his voice, and trusts him and knows that he is totally safe with him. The sheep will follow no other shepherd but their own. This is how we are to be with Jesus if we truly follow Him ( John 10:11; Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11) .

Upside down the candy cane was a "J", the first letter of Jesus' name. ( Luke 1:31) It was made of hard candy to remind us that Christ is the rock of our salvation. The wide red stripes on the candy cane were to represent the blood He shed on the cross for each one of us so that we can have eternal life through Him. He redeems us and cleanses us with His shed blood - the only thing that can wash away our sin.     ( Luke 22:20) . The white stripes on a candy cane represented the virgin birth, sinless life and purity of our Lord. He is the only human being who ever lived on this earth who never committed a single sin. Even though He was tempted just as we are, He never sinned. ( I Peter: 22) The three narrow red stripes on candy canes symbolized that by His stripes, or wounds, we are healed and the Trinity - the Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit. Before the crucifixion Jesus was beaten; the crown of thorns was placed on His head; His back was raw from the whip. We are healed by those wounds. He bore our sorrows and by His stripes we are healed. ( Isaiah 53:3)  The flavoring in the candy cane was peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is of the mint family and was used in Old Testament times for purification and sacrifice just as Jesus sacrificed His life for ours. ( John 19:29; Psalm 51:7)

The old candy maker told them that when we break our candy cane it reminds us that Jesus' body was broken for us. When we have communion it is a reminder of what He did for us. ( I Cor. 11:24) If we share our candy cane and give some to someone else in love because we want to, it represents that same love of Jesus because He is to be shared with one another in love. ( I John 4:7,8)  God gave Himself to us when He sent Jesus. He loved us so much He wants us to spend eternal life with Him... which we can do if we accept Jesus in our hearts as Savior and Lord. ( John 1:12; John 3:3,16) Some people believe this story of the candy cane is just a legend. Others believe it really happened. We do not know for sure exactly how the candy cane was invented, but there is one thing for certain... it is an excellent picture of Christ and His love for you.

http://www.reasonfortheseason.com/candycanestory.html

I think the commercials for this movie look fantastic and the 'little girl' in me would love to see this fantasy, but the 'warning' of this movie caused me to investigate this further.  (I am not one to read an email and believe it at face value...I have to do my research).  This is actually pretty scary for our world.  It seems satan is oozing his way into to our lives through the cracks and openings that seem "harmless" (Harry Potter for instance). 

The other day--a downtrodden young man entered into a mall not far from my hometown (the safe midwest)...and shot and killed innocent people to glorify himself as he too took his 'unholy' life.  I blame our lethargy for this.  What if someone had loved him and 'evangelized' him -- told him of Jesus and Jesus' love for him.  What if he had believed it as truth?  I wonder, would he have even entertained the thought of taking his own precious life, as well as those innocent victim's precious lives?

I had my brand new bike --with the $20 gel seat (oh yes!) and all the other accutriments a 'pimped out' bike could have--stolen a month or so ago  You might have seen my ticker on my Profile pagewith a goal to ride my bike 100 miles before Christmas...--my first thought--ain't gonna happen now without a bike.  I cursed the individual who stole my bike --out of the safety of our backyard--, then I blamed our daughter (she rode it last) for leaving it exposed to the street where it might have been seen, and then I blamed the the bums and/or the illegal aliens and profusely cursed them, because they steal bikes all the time (it is a drudgery to walk anywhere in the heat in Florida).  I was very upset and angry...I wanted to berate someone, because THAT WAS MY BIKE!!!!  

Well, lo and behold, I am blessed with a Christian husband, and he reminded me of the worthlessness of material things of this world and then he reminded of the precious gift of the spiritual realm--where only believers in Jesus can go (He is our High Priest, who sits at the right-hand of God intercessing on our behalf, because He overcame evil/death).  Then when he got me settled and into a more passive state of mind, my husband simply said,  "Maybe that person needed that bike more than you, and God gifted him with it.  If you trust and believe in that, God will reward you for your faith in Him and you will get another bike, maybe even a better bike next time."   I was almost immediately relieved from the stress and anger, as God's peace came over me.  I think it is wonderful , as I mentioned to another member of JC Faith, that we as Christians have that 'out'.  We don't have to be angry and unforgiving....if I hadn't faith in God but in nothing or only my humanism, like Philip Pullman, I think I might be still hunting down the 'creep' (now a needy individual) who stole my bike, and probably...rather than loving my peers, I would be HATING them (suspicious of them).

I fetched this aticle from a secular magazine/internet site...I know yall have read through emails and your Christian sites the Christian-take on this man and his beliefs...the movie and the books he authored.  I think we should read what 'everyone' is reading too.  Because people who read this, and not Christian editorials, will be the people who will persecute us in the future.  satan has declared war and as Christians we need to be battle ready through education, our own research, and not just propagandized into what we should believe by one or a few individuals.  Know what you are up against...the evil one wants to take every one who is for God down.  He hates, kills and destroys.