Santa Not Real, Sermon by Vicar Leaves Parents Angry

A Christmas sermon by a trainee vicar to small children telling them Santa does not exist has left many parents in England fuming.

The Rev. Margaret McPhee, tried to explain to young students the real meaning of Santa, which was about the birth of the baby Jesus and the light that he brought to the world. She told them it was not about Barbies and Xboxes

But parents were not grateful about this sermon of simplicity. One parent posted on Facebook that McPhee had "put me off taking my children to church just in case something else gets said," reports WPTZ.com of Channel 5.

This is the second such incident in recent times. At another church sermon students were told about Santa not being a reality and the school principal actually intervened and left a message for all the children which said:"I want to reassure all Year Three pupils at St. Anne's, and their parents, that I have personally spoken to Father Christmas and told him about what has happened. "

Christmas is never complete for the little ones without a visit from Santa. And over the years his visit has become embroiled with browny points for good behaviour.

The tradition is so woven in the Christmas fabric that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has a website monitoring Santa's progress over Christmas.

Santa Claus became a popular Christmas figure in early 20th century as part of a Coco Cola advertisement and the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Before that the jolly father figure was a part of folklore in different forms in different countries. The modern figure of Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, whose name is a dialectal pronunciation of Saint Nicholas, the historical Greek bishop and gift-giver of Myra.

Critics say that Santa has become a symbol of materialism and wants instead of about the spirit of Christmas, which is about family and togetherness and tradition.

Should Santa be explained away or not is for every parent to decide. But a recent ad of Ikea has a very realistic take on the issue. Some children are asked to write two letters: one to the Three Kings ( the gift bearers) and the other to the parents. The letters to the Kings are full of lists of gifts they want; but what did they write to their parents? The children asked for love and time from their parents. A hug, a tickle, a story , more playtime. Watch the heartwarming advertisement below.