I have a six year-old and a ten year-old, and they both love to get excited about Santa coming at Christmas. It's part of the fun. At some deep level, they understand the truth. They can sense that fundamentally, Mommy feels very different about "helping Santa" by buying gifts, than she does about Jesus Christ.
This teacher was completely out of line, she stole something important from both the children and their parents.
btw, I love the keywords on this thread. Bah humbug, indeed.
"Mommy feels very different about "helping Santa" by buying gifts, than she does about Jesus Christ."
For you that is probably true.