12/15/2025
Is the Grinch stealing Faith from Christmas?
I like the Grinch. I grew up loving the 1966 animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and looked forward to watching it every year. Even now, my kids and I still make a tradition of watching the Ron Howard version, and we laugh out loud every time at Jim Carrey’s performance.
But lately, I’ve started to wonder whether the Grinch has begun stealing more than just Christmas presents. It sometimes feels like he’s stealing Santa’s thunder as well.
The secularization and commercialization of Christmas have been with us for a long time, slowly reshaping the holiday and its most familiar figure, Saint Nicholas, better known as Santa Claus. That alone is troubling enough. But replacing the red-and-white colors of Christmas with the noxious green of Mount Crumpit’s garbage heap feels like yet another step away from the holiday’s Christian roots.
The legend of Santa Claus is not a modern invention. It is rooted in the life of Saint Nicholas of Myra, an early Christian bishop who was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith and remembered for his deep generosity and care for others. His story is one of sacrifice, charity, and quiet faithfulness,not satire or spectacle.
At its heart, Christmas is about giving and receiving gifts in the truest sense: God giving humanity the gift of His Son, and humanity receiving the gift of eternal life. That is the message that gives the season its meaning.
This is why we sing “Joy to the World” each year—not because of movies, decorations, or pop-culture icons, but because “the Lord is come.”
Merry Christmas and God Bless you!
