Monday, November 30, 2009

Santa or no Santa?

Santa or no Santa; that is the question. Before the kids were born we had decided that we would not follow the tradition of Santa primarily because it meant lying to the kids. If we lied about Santa, would the kids believe us when we told them about Jesus? This has cause much dismay among the grandparents and countless family arguments but we have stood our ground. This year Josiah has been quite curious about the story of Santa and the traditions that go with it. He has lamented that Santa does not visit our house but he visits others. Despite our truth telling in the way the whole Santa thing works, Josiah actually believes in Santa! How did that happened? I have no idea. In any case, it has brought to light some retrospect on my part. I grew up with Santa and it was magical. To this day I still getting teary eyed when I watch movies about Santa Claus. He was such a wonderful part of my childhood. I do however remember when my parents told me the truth and I was distraught. I didn't want that to happen to my kids but I fear we have done it in the opposite way. They understand the reason for Christmas; the greatest gift that God could give humanity lying in a manger. And yet it seems that no matter how hard we try, the focus returns to what presents will I get? So we are going to prayerfully seek the Lord's guidance in how to handle traditions this holiday season. The goal is to follow in God's example as a humble servant, to demonstrate to fellow man love and mercy and to be generous as God has so graciously been generous to us. The question is how do we do that in a way that a 7 and 5 year old will understand.

1 comment:

  1. That is a tough one. We, too, had the same concerns that if we tell them Santa is real then when they find out he is not will they question whether we are telling the truth about Jesus. I have always believed in Jesus and distinctly remember when my brother told me Santa was really our parents. Once I knew they didn't try to convince me otherwise but we continued in the fun of it. I never once questioned whether Jesus was real, too, because I saw in their daily lives how much He meant to them. So for my own kids whenever we talk about Santa we talk about how he brings toys to children becuase he loves Jesus and brings them in honor of His birthday. How Jesus loves the little children and Santa is just loving children the way Jesus commands us to. We decided once they ask we will never lie to them but explain and research who the real Santa was (he was a man who loved God and did in fact bring presents to little kids). We'll explain how Santa is not alive anymore and that we the parents actually bring the toys from him as a tradition and for fun.

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