Q&A Home > H > Harry Potter

Although Harry Potter seems to conflict somehow with the Orthodox dogma; can not our children enjoy watching it as a fun program like any other fun programs; knowing for sure that one day they will outgrow those characters just like all other fiction characters; for example Santa Clause and Easter Bunny? Or is there something about Harry Potter’s films and books more serious which I am not aware of?

The story of Harry Potter, I am told, deals with sorcery, evil, black magic, drinking blood, child abuse and so forth. Definitely this conflicts with Biblical and Orthodox teaching. Further, I do not think exposure to this type of viewing environment is appropriate for neither children nor adults.

Santa Claus and the Easter bunny are also fictional; but evil is not incorporated in their fiction. Besides,we do not celebrate Nativity and Resurrection Feasts with these figures. Some Copts, along with their children, celebrate Santa Claus and Easter Bunny during the American Christmas and Easter. No harm seems to exist in this practice as long as the Orthodox Fasts are kept and Feasts celebrated foremost with the Lord Jesus Christ as the central Character.

Nativity should celebrate solely the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Glorious Feast of the Resurrection should celebrate solely the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should never deviate from these teachings and their representation in any manner.

The tooth fairy, the bunny rabbit, and Santa Claus (the last actually derived from a true saint, St. Nicholas) represent an innocent type of fiction or a make-believe for children. Their stories are not touched or sugar coated white with evil, black magic, or violence.