HO HO HO or a fatty NO?
Okay, so last night I stopped by Fern's house after getting my Hepatitis A shot and her house was full of Christmas cheer. So naturally, our conversation soon steered in the direction of Christamas' past-- and we started talking about Santa Clause-- a tradition that was completely avoided at my house on purpose. Fern shared with me about the devestation of learning that there was no Santa, but adamently stood by her decision to have Santa as an important Christmas tradition. The conversation kept getting funnier as I told her of my childhood santa-envy and my crusade to shatter this fantasy for all of the 2nd grader's at Parkwood Elementary. I decided that I did not want Santa to be part of my children's Christmas traditions in the future. After we were both laughing, she told me that her kids were not allowed to play with my kids (a joke, I presume). I was just curious what the rest of you guys thought on the subject of Santa. . . is he
a) a harmless fantasy that teaches kids about cause and effect (I'm good and Santa brings me toys), and the Christmas spirit-- or
b) a lie perpetuated by parents that shatters their children's trust when the truth is revealed--and a deterant from the true meaning of Christmas.
As for me, I have been doing very well! Mary and I had a fabulous bike/run this moring up to Rock Canyon and on Bonneville trail. I had my physical done today and, in the words of my doctor I am "perfectly healthy, athletic and good to go" -- HOO RAH! Now it's on to the bishop and those puppies will be in before thanksgiving. Hallelujah. Hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving .
a) a harmless fantasy that teaches kids about cause and effect (I'm good and Santa brings me toys), and the Christmas spirit-- or
b) a lie perpetuated by parents that shatters their children's trust when the truth is revealed--and a deterant from the true meaning of Christmas.
As for me, I have been doing very well! Mary and I had a fabulous bike/run this moring up to Rock Canyon and on Bonneville trail. I had my physical done today and, in the words of my doctor I am "perfectly healthy, athletic and good to go" -- HOO RAH! Now it's on to the bishop and those puppies will be in before thanksgiving. Hallelujah. Hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving .
posted by Angela at 5:18 PM
10 Comments:
Here's the real deal..
Believing in Santa = believing in everything magical, ie:faries, imaginary friends, dolls, birds, bugs, animals ect that talk as soon as you're not looking, Peter Pan.
Not Believing in Santa = pretending that all those other things happen, but knowing you're just pretending.
You can still be a good Christian if you believe in a "Jolly old man that has a soft spot for kids" (in a non prison way of course!j/k).
My parents did neither. They gave us presents from Santa and from themselves, but they never tried to get us to believe in anything, either way. They let our imaginations do the work, thus we weren't crushed when we learned otherwise (I can't even recall when I learned, or if it was gradual? Did I ever really believe, I don't know...). In fact, I'm in my twenties, and my mom still fills the stockings... the past two years she has forgotten, and we make fun of santa's forgetfullness, and she does something cute to cover up "santa's" error
Wow angela!! that santa thing got a lot of feedback! i kind of agree with your brother about the fun of beleiving...i think kids need something to beleive in...its fun! but i also dont think i will make a big deal out of it- it wasnt a big deal in my childhood, jsut somthing fun to get excited about at christmas time. So i think i will just do whatever with my kids eh? oh jsut to let you know, we made it to IF last night safely and sven says hi and we miss you! (and its kind of too cold to climb and not cold enough to board....hmmm) but sven is coming back with us on sunday night! sounds good? have a great day!
Emily here. Just wanted to let you know that I'm impressed with your frequent updates. It makes me want to keep coming back for more of the post-it note novel. As for Santa, I was of your persuasion until I read Ryan's comments. I liked what he said, so I may move in the opposite direction now. Although, I would certainly hope that no matter how you choose to view Santa, the true meaning of Christmas is never lost - but reinforced in our homes year after year... There you have it! Glad to hear you are healthy and ready to go - the real wait begins after Sunday's interview... :) I'm thinking of you and praying for you!
Love, Em
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- What's wrong with santa anyway? If you want to legitimize teaching about Santa, you can just sat that a jolly man that gives gifts to all can be a type of Christ. The red suit symbolizes his sacrifice and the green gloves symbolize eternal life...and I guess the 8 reindeer can be the 7 churches of asia + Jerusalem...and rudolph could be paul... Children at a young age cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality, therefore parents are not "disillusioning" thier kids with santa or the easter bunny or anything else. Kids are supposed to have a fun childhood. I figured it out (santa)when my brain developed and I was able to tell the difference between fiction and reality. I was grateful that my family made childhood fun for me- not resentful that they didn't "set me straight"- how dumb would that be? I think I would be actually disillusioned and resentful had my parents "just said no" to giving me legos and star wars guys and instead rewarded my five year old level headed sensibilities with a set of encyclopedias in my stocking.
I agree with Ryan that kids enjoy believing in magic and fostering a belief in Santa does just that. But to do the Santa-thing right, I think you have to take some time to instill the belief. You take them to the mall to sit on his lap. You talk about him and use him to reinforce good behavior. You send your kids to bed on Christmas Eve after placing out their cookies and milk thinking about reindeer and wondering how and when Santa will arrive. It's great to do those things, but I also want my two boys to go to bed on Christmas Eve with their ears ringing with carols heralding the birth of Christ. I am not going to make a big deal about Santa because I think it's hard enough to get the true spirit of Christmas across. My focus is on the birth of Christ and I want my kids to know and feel the miracle of that great event. But I won't discourage Santa's magic either!
-- Sarah
Sorry for being austere, but I think Ryan Hatch's comment is pusillanimous. Getting children to believe in Santa is America's capitalist approach at getting our children to believe in a commercialized demigod. I call it paganism. No true Christian would even CONSIDER brain washing their children with neofascist "fairy tales" in order for them to conform. It is pure calumny. I don't profess to be religious, but I know how pertinacious ethics are to the United States Constitution, and I find that barraging our children with these lies to be a sacrelige to our God and to our country. Welcome to George Bush's Marxist America you ignoramuses
Holy cow, dude. . . chill out. It sounds to me like you need a lesson in tolerance: BY THE WAY-- I don't really care for those who "anonymously" post on my blog. I don't care who you are and especially what you think.
I didn't know the Grinch had a blog =)
Sarah
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