Santa Claus made an appearance at Christmas Eve Mass

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During the Mass, the priest gave his final blessing and then asked everyone to sit. Santa Claus entered from the sacristy and knelt before the statue of the infant Jesus placed in front of the altar. After a few moments, he exited through the center aisle, to the back of the church. When Mass was over, Santa was there to greet people.

It doesn’t sit well with me. I just don’t think that that part where Santa showed up belongs to the liturgy. Any (charitable) thoughts? 🙂 If you think that it shouldn’t happen again, how can I tell father politely? Thanks in advance and I wish you all a blessed Christmas!
 
Oh boy. Just pray and pray some more than some dignity can return to our celebrations. This banalization of everything sacred wearies me.
 
mrs_katekista said:
During the Mass, the priest gave his final blessing and then asked everyone to sit. Santa Claus entered from the sacristy and knelt before the statue of the infant Jesus placed in front of the altar. After a few moments, he exited through the center aisle, to the back of the church. When Mass was over, Santa was there to greet people.

It doesn’t sit well with me. I just don’t think that that part where Santa showed up belongs to the liturgy. Any (charitable) thoughts? 🙂 If you think that it shouldn’t happen again, how can I tell father politely? Thanks in advance and I wish you all a blessed Christmas!
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first of all, if the priest gave his final blessing, the Mass is over. I also wager that this was the Mass that would be geared to children? (early afternoon?). Likewise, Santa Claus came and knelt down in front of baby Jesus, demonstrating what the holiday is all about.
I would guess that it wouldn’t have bothered me. It was probably done to reach out to children, it was probably done to show to children that Jesus is before Santa Claus and the real reason for the season. Churches sponser and have lunch with Santa all the time.
If you said something to the priest, I would bet these are the things he would say to you.
Maybe next time, reconsider what Mass you may attend at Christmas time.
 
Our parish has the Santa appearance at Mass too. It’s before the final blessing, but I never thought about that until now.

A significant part of the congregation, primarily those without small kids, leaves when the Santa part starts.
 
Saint Nick’s entrance is not part of the liturgy but I would not bother complaining about this, especially at a children’s Mass. I would be happy if this were the worst liturgical abuse in my parish.
 
devoutchristian said:
The mass is no place for mythological characters.
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Totally agree. What are parents doing in their (“obligatory duty”) to instill in their young children the real meaning of Christmas? Jesus being the Reason for the Season.

Even children under the age of reason can grasp some sense under guidance of parents the Story of the Nativity.

The secularization of Santa has no place within any part of the Mass.
 
centurionguard said:
Totally agree. What are parents doing in their (“obligatory duty”) to instill in their young children the real meaning of Christmas? Jesus being the Reason for the Season.
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Which is exactly what was demonstrated by Santa kneeling before the infant Jesus.
 
agnes_therese said:
Which is exactly what was demonstrated by Santa kneeling before the infant Jesus.
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Yes; perhaps but the jolly man in the red suit would have stolen the entire show far more than young kids appreciating or grasping the profound gravity of the dipiction of Santa kneeling or the Mass itself. And never mind kids for the moment; even some Adults have difficulty grasping the idea of humble adoration.
 
centurionguard said:
Yes; perhaps but the jolly man in the red suit would have stolen the entire show far more than young kids appreciating or grasping the profound gravity of the dipiction of Santa kneeling or the Mass itself. And never mind kids for the moment; even some Adults have difficulty grasping the idea of humble adoration.
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🤷

I don’t think you’re giving the kids enough credit. I think it was a smart move, one to remind EVERYONE (not just the kiddoes) that while gift-giving is a fun and good thing, it comes second before the remembrance and adoration of our Savior.

Heck, I wish they’d done it at our Mass.
 
I don’t think I would have liked it either. If it was the Children’s Mass, then it might be applicable, but I would worry about what kind of message it sends to children seeing Santa in that sacred setting. We went to the LifeTeen Vigil Mass and it was beautiful and reverent.
 
I guess its a nice gesture and an attempt to reconcile the two together, but things would have been better without that show, imo.
 
Just remember, please, Santa means saint and Claus is derived from the name Nicholas. All children should be made aware that St. Nicholas was a bishop who lived in what is now Turkey. Although the image of St. Nicholas has been commercialized over the years, he really is St. Nick and he really existed. Popular depictions of him in a red suit are no farther from reality than is a blond haired, blued eyed baby Jesus.

Merry Christmas everyone.
 
Santa suits scared me as a child. I think when I was a child it would have been more helpful if the priest had the little children come up after mass and kneel together before the infant Jesus and adore him. I would have remembered that, especially if kids did it together as a group.
 
Maybe some talk about it during the Homily would have been fine or something outside of Mass, but why did it have to be connected to the Mass? Yes, I know it was after, but still, people were there for Mass and got that too.

It seems like parishes will do anything and everything to distract from the fact that what is occurring on the altar is the miracle of the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Our Lord. No, instead we must make Mass fun and a joke. The fear of the Lord is far from our communities, and it saddens me that people seem to be put off by a reverent liturgy. What’s going on?
 
Pug said:
Santa suits scared me as a child. I think when I was a child it would have been more helpful if the priest had the little children come up after mass and kneel together before the infant Jesus and adore him. I would have remembered that, especially if kids did it together as a group.
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I’m guessing that this wouldn’t work too well. In our Family Mass, the children gather near the front of the nave (not around the altar) for a special homily (it’s appropriate for adults, too).

Many children are simply too shy or apprehensive to do this, and they remain in their seats near their parents. That’s OK, the priest has a mic, so we can all hear his homily.

Last night during Family Mass, the children were invited to come forward for the homily, and although many came, many had their parents come up with them, and many did NOT come, but remained safely in their seats. And quite a few came up, saw the crowd, and ran back to their parents!

So IMO, many shy children would miss out if they were invited to come up and adore a statue of a baby in a manger.

I don’t see any problem with having a saint (NIcholas) make an appearance after the Mass.

Last night, we had the Holy Family come up during the procession at the beginning of the Family Mass (our parish patron is the Holy Family), and the angels and shepherds came with them, and formed a Nativity, which remained at the front throughout the entire Mass. This isn’t in the liturgy, but it certainly seemed appropriate for Christmas Eve. The children who presented this were so incredibly well-behaved and sweet! They also presented the gifts, BTW–very poignant for all! And Father invited all families to come up to the manger after the Mass to see the Holy Family, and everyone who came received a little gift (candy and a nice Christmas card).
 
While the idea of Saint Nicholas is a nice, Catholic one, Santa Claus, as he’s understood by our culture and by the children is no Saint Nick. He’s a magical toy-giver. And when kids grow up and realize the truth, then it’s perfectly logical for them to ask, “So, the same deal with Jesus, too? Right? He’s just a story for small kids?”

The more the church and parishes can disassociate themselves from cultural Santa the better. Not only keeping him outside the Mass, but outside the church, and outside the parish hall where he shows up for Breakfast with Santa.

That will require a lot of pastoral teaching to make happen and there will be pushback. But unless we want our maturing children to lump Jesus in with Santa and the Tooth Fairy, it’s something that needs to be done.

First step is de-emphasizing Santa in the home. Parents can ‘ask Santa’ to bring the less flashy gifts, like underwear, and they can be the ones to give the new bike (I never understood why parents don’t want the credit for all the cool gifts). And the nativity scene should be the centerpiece of home decoration, not the Christmas tree.

Next step would be ditching Breakfast with Santa where kids tell him all their egoistic fantasies, and instead, Santa shows up to pack food for a soup kitchen. When that happens, then we’re going back to the real Saint Nicholas and the real meaning of Christmas. Otherwise, it’s just goading kids into a selfish gimmee frenzy, and there ain’t nothing Christian about that.
 
Cat said:
So IMO, many shy children would miss out if they were invited to come up and adore a statue of a baby in a manger.
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I agree that the shy ones won’t come up. That is pretty standard for the smaller ones. 🙂 One day of the year the priest passes out gold coins (foil wrapped chocolate) to them, and it is difficult even with a gold coin to lure a few of them up in front. I assume that is for the epiphany, but I don’t recall for sure. :o
 
mrs_katekista said:
During the Mass, the priest gave his final blessing and then asked everyone to sit. Santa Claus entered from the sacristy and knelt before the statue of the infant Jesus placed in front of the altar. After a few moments, he exited through the center aisle, to the back of the church. When Mass was over, Santa was there to greet people.

It doesn’t sit well with me. I just don’t think that that part where Santa showed up belongs to the liturgy. Any (charitable) thoughts? 🙂 If you think that it shouldn’t happen again, how can I tell father politely? Thanks in advance and I wish you all a blessed Christmas!
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How long, O Lord, how long.
 
smndtupidisaftr said:
Oh boy. Just pray and pray some more than some dignity can return to our celebrations. This banalization of everything sacred wearies me.
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I didn’t read in the original post that the mass was not beautiful or that there was any lack of dignity in the Eucharistic Celebration. I would have to say we must trust the pastors judgement on this…remember, the OP asked for charitable posts.
Merry Christmas!
 
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