Imposter

Santa had planted himself right next to the bar and was acting very un-Santa like. He wasn't hohohoing at all, and he was waving at people a little tipsily. His pillow belly was slowly shifting and he was making no attempts to prod it to its proper position.
"And what is Santa doing here at an adult Christmas party? " I asked Arvo, "There is something odd about Santa."

I watched Santa at various points of the night, when I wasn't cramming my face full of shrimp, wild mushroom ravioli, and pecan encrusted chicken. I love Christmas parties! And it had even begun to snow a little today. Not for long and it didn't stick, but it was definitely Christmas cold and Christmasy feeling.

Except for Santa. He hovered on the sidelines, rocking a little on his toes and then surreptitiously sneaking another drink from the open bar. When I wasn't watching Santa, I checked out what the other ladies were wearing. Some had full length gowns, so I probably didn't need to cut off my velvet dress to tea length, but now it is more adaptable for other activities like walking the dog.  One lady had a full sequined dress, but she really should have talked to my sister before accessorizing it. She wore a dowdy black cardigan with it. She would never have escaped the house if Holly had been around to advise her. I was center of the road as far as attire, and my feet were killing me, as they always do unless I am wearing sneakers.

The boss finally worked his way over to us and we all exchanged the usual pleasantries and then silence fell, and our eyes all hovered over to Santa, who was now tapping his fingers a little and waving his arms over his head in beat to the music.

"I don't know where Santa came from," admitted the boss,"We didn't hire him. He appears to just have wandered in and planted himself by the bar."

So Santa was an imposter! Maybe some enterprising homeless man who figured out the no one dares kick Santa out of holiday parties. A clever way to get food, drink, and warmth for little investment!

I have always considered Santa an imposter, an interloper, a spoiler who comes in and tries to grab the real magic of Christmas from the hearts and minds of our children. I am one of those Grinches who never taught my children about Santa, and never pretended Santa bought gifts. I felt the miracle of Christ born a human to show us the way back to a right relationship with our God was a far more wondrous idea than a fat man riding a sleigh filled with toys pulled by flying reindeer. I remember one day when Anders was very young when he was asking me about the meaning of Christmas. He had heard friends talking about Santa and was curious.... was Santa real? And just what was Santa supposedly responsible for anyway? So I told him all the beliefs about Santa, and he listened nodding. Sounded plausible to him.
Then I told him the real Christmas story, how Jesus was born in a manger, a baby who was born so that He would grow to challenge us to understand how our damaged souls longed for a right relationship with God. But no matter how hard we tried, we could never obey God, just like no matter how hard he tried, he could never perfectly obey me. (he nodded, here.) But all we had to do was trust that Jesus had come to let God punish Him instead of us, so that we could stand before God as though we were perfect, clean, and righteous. It was as though when Anders faced punishment which he rightfully deserved, his brother Matthias stepped in and said, "I know justice requires retribution.... so punish me instead."  All Anders had to do was acknowledge that Matthias had done this wondrous thing, and accept it, and say Thankyou.

The boy who had nodded that he could see how people could believe in flying reindeer, a sleigh that could fit toys for every child in the whole world, and a man that could slide down chimneys to deliver them, now looked at me with wonder as I finished telling him the REAL Christmas story.
"NAH!!!" he said, thinking I was joking.
And that's why we never celebrated Santa.

As we headed away from the loud music and the swaying Santa, and walked down the long festive corridor of the hotel... I noticed a little manger scene. It was in a dark corner, not fully assembled, small, and unnoticed. The glitzy celebration roared behind me, but I looked at the little manger scene and felt the awe I always feel that something so small, so insignificant, so helpless as a tiny baby could become the most pivotal event of my life and so many people leave it in a dusty, unnoticed corner.

Psalm 4: 2-3
 ² How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
   How long will you love delusions and seek false gods^[b]?^[c]
3 Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
   the LORD hears when I call to him.