Foul-mouthed Santa frightens children – Denison Forum

It was the nightmare before Christmas.

Children were lined up to visit Santa Claus in the English town of St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, last Sunday. An alarm at a nearby but unrelated event caused an evacuation of the building.

Organizers euphemistically said later that Santa “assisted in the evacuation of the building.” Here’s how: Parents and children were leaving when Santa tore into the room, ripped his hat and beard off in front of fifty children, and started shouting and swearing at people to leave.

One mother said she had to tell her children that the man wasn’t really Santa but an imposter who would be going on the “naughty list.” Organizers will try again this weekend but have not said whether the same Santa Claus will return.

Christmas as a spiritual buffet

In a similar vein, I heard recently about an unusual manger scene.

I was honored last Wednesday to be back on the radio show, “Equipped with Chris Brooks.” Chris is a brilliant pastor, cultural theologian, and radio host. During our conversation, he told us about a good friend who was jogging in his neighborhood and passed a nativity scene. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi were all present.

But the baby Jesus was missing.

As Chris noted, some traditions don’t add Jesus to their manger scenes until Christmas Eve. Perhaps that’s what this neighbor intended. Or perhaps this nativity scene is a sign of our times.

It seems to me that “Christmas without Christ” could be a theme of our holidays these days. Christmas specials are televised nightly but seldom refer to Jesus’ birth. Christmas decorations in my Dallas neighborhood feature inflatable Santas, snowmen, reindeer, and a plethora of lights, but few mangers.

Yesterday, I quoted William Booth’s prediction that the coming century would embrace “Christianity without Christ.” In a day when “spirituality” is replacing religion, more and more people see their relationship with the divine as a spiritual…