Texas Preacher Dresses Up As The Grinch To Tell Elementary Kids That Santa Isn't Real
He wants to "protect" children from the "lies" they've been told.
fotosteve, Inside Creative House / Shutterstock As the Grinch once reflected, "Christmas does not come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."
Christmas has different meanings for all of us, whether we put gifts under the tree addressed from Santa for our children to open on Christmas morning, gather with our families for gift exchanges, or simply just enjoy the day with our loved ones.
No matter how we choose to celebrate, it is not up to anyone else to tell us otherwise.
One Texas preacher, however, believes otherwise and took it upon himself to push his own Christmas narrative onto elementary school children.
The preacher dressed up as the Grinch and held up a sign that read ‘Santa is fake. Jesus is real.’
Just two weeks ago, David Grisham showed up outside of Sleepy Hollow Elementary School in Amarillo, Texas to make sure the students heard his message loud and clear.
Dressed up as Dr. Seuss’ fictional character, the Grinch from “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” Grisham marched in front of the school holding up the controversial sign.
Eventually, he caught the attention of bystanders and enraged parents, who demanded that he leave the school property. “Is there not a better way for you to spread your message than doing this at an elementary school?” a concerned woman can be heard saying off-camera.
Grisham claimed that choosing to spread his message in front of an elementary school was a “fantastic way” to get it across. “Jesus said go into all of the world, including elementaries, and preach the gospel to every preacher, including a child,” he said.
When the woman encouraged him to pass on his message to people other than elementary school children, Grisham told her that if she felt so strongly about her own faith, she could preach it herself wherever she wanted.
Another video taken later at a different angle showed a parent storming up to Grisham and tearing the sign out of his hands to keep children from seeing it.
“You don’t lie to children,” Grisham can be heard saying.
According to a statement given to ABC 7 by the school’s principal Kelsey Williams, Grisham’s presence on campus was “uninvited” and “unwanted,” and the children who did see him were “frightened.”
Although Grisham told a much different story to People Magazine. "The Grinch costume was to help the preaching not frighten the children,” he claimed. “It worked well, as several children smiled and waved, [and] one gave me a high five."
The police eventually arrived on the scene to de-escalate the situation.
However, in a Facebook post, Grisham revealed that the police showed up “in force.”
“The police did their very best to distract me from my mission and blocked me from exercising my First Amendment rights as much as they could,” Grisham wrote. “They as much as admitted so. Very unprofessional."
Grisham also alleged that he was followed by one parent, who took a picture of his vehicle license plate when he stopped at a restaurant.
The Amarillo Police Department disclosed to People that Grisham was well-known, and not particularly liked, in the community. “He has been around for many years, preaching on the streets. We do get called about him from citizens occasionally,” they said.
The officers were unable to make an incident report since Grisham was preaching on public property.
Grisham was far more concerned about pushing his agenda than he was about community members’ unfavorable views toward him.
"Hundreds of children heard the message and many parents as well," he went on to say. "It’s very telling for a society to go this far in protecting a LIE."
"To go that far in trying to protect kids from hearing the truth. It’s no wonder our country is in trouble.”
While it is true that Santa Claus is a mythical being, he adds excitement to the holidays for many children, and there is no harm in believing in him.
Photo: Stockbyte / Canva Pro
Having faith in Santa adds an element of magic and wonder to a child's life, brings a sense of anticipation and joy during the holiday season, and opens up a world of creativity and fantasy. It does not matter if he does not exist. In time, they will find out their own.
Teaching your children about Santa is not lying to them. It instills a sense of hope and wonders into them that they will remember long after they stop believing.
Every family is entitled to create their own holiday traditions, and whether we agree with them or not, they deserve the peace to celebrate as they wish. Grisham's Grinch privileges should be revoked because his heart did not grow three sizes that day.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.