Santa and the Baby Jesus
Last week I told you about a dust up in my hometown of Toledo in Tama County. A bunch of out-of-town Scrooges blew the whistle on the nativity scene display on the front yard of the Toledo Fire Department building, with the display being moved a short distance away to private property while options were considered.
The legal solution was to add Santa Claus or something similar to make the overall display not completely religious in nature. In this case, that was probably the most legal option for the city to take.
I made my way back to the hometown earlier this week and drove by the scene. Sure enough, Santa, his sleigh, and reindeer are right there, next to the original nativity scene. In one respect, it’s sort of jarring because the two don’t really fit.
But as I thought about it, the way the local folks set it up actually was perfect. As you view the scene, Santa and the sleigh are to the left, with Santa gesturing to his right…pointing right at the nativity scene.
In essence, it’s as if the symbol of commercial Christmas—Santa Claus—is directing you to look at the real symbol of Christmas—the Baby Jesus in the manger. It’s like Santa knows his role, and who’s the real star of the show.
I have no idea if the home folks planned it that way or not…but that’s how it looks to me. And the whole ordeal draws even more attention to the religious aspect of December 25…probably not what the atheists who objected had in mind.
