Why does our childhood minister not let us display a picture of Santa on our class bulletin board?
Preschoolers and young children are not mentally able to separate fantasy and reality. Although fantasy is an important part of children’s development, church is not the place for it. Everything the child sees and hears at church should be true, so that the child is never confused. A child who is taught about baby Jesus and about Santa at church will assume that both are part of the real Christmas story. We do not want the child to learn anything now that he will have to unlearn later, so it is wise to omit secular Christmas characters, symbols, and music from the church.
