we're considering not letting our kids believe in santa claus.
did i just say that? yes, mom, i did. (she is going to kill us!)
i've been thinking about how it bothers me that santa claus is really just one more way to affirm the disparity between the rich and the poor. think about it -- do poor kids wake up on christmas morning to a bunch of christmas presents? i really started feeling heartbroken for all those children who hear about santa claus from their teachers at school and their friends only to have their hopes dashed on christmas morning.
jamie thinks santa claus steals all the attention away from jesus at christmas. he didn't even want me to buy a stocking with santa claus on it. the more i think about it, that's really true. there are few times in my life where i woke up on christmas morning more excited about jesus' birth than the presents santa had brought for me. when i think about my children, i don't want the excitement of santa claus to overshadow the joy of our savior's birth. i want my children to wake up on christmas knowing that before any present is opened, we will open our bible and read the story of jesus' birth.
i know some people think that families who don't let their kids believe in santa claus are weird. and if we end up giving santa claus the boot, it won't be because we don't want to lie to our kids. the real kicker is this: saint nicholas, who is the "historical santa claus," became famous for the gifts he gave to the poor. the most famous story about him is that he gave money to a father who could not afford a dowry for his three daughters. without a dowry, the daughters would have been sold into slavery or prostitution. so saint nicholas, not wanting to be seen, went at night and delivered three purses (stockings) of money to the daughters. something tells me that saint nicholas would not like that his image has been totally commercialized and used to promote gross consumerism, nor would he like that the poor are forgotten on christmas, nor would he like that jesus is the most forgotten on christmas.
just don't let your kids tell my kids that Santa isn't real ;)
ReplyDeletewe will make sure our kids don't spoil the fun for other kids! these are just personal thoughts. clearly, we don't think letting your kid believe in santa is bad.
ReplyDeletetotally kidding and totally understand where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteand if my kids are anything like I was they won't believe other kids when they say that Santa isn't real. I got in a big fight with a kid when I was in 3rd grade, called him and his mom a liar because dang it Santa was real!!!
i love your thinking on this... but i also love santa. we do santa... but emphasize st. nick... and talk about how much we're giving to our friends and family over the holidays (coffee... :)... baked goods that we love to give our neighbors, etc...).
ReplyDeletePlus, and I say this in the most gentle and loving way, b/c i love you... but don't decide until you have your kids. i love, love, love letting these young years be magical for them. leah is starting to figure it all out, but now she loves helping things be magical for her brothers, and being in on the "adult" secret. nothing that we allowed with santa has taken away from her true understanding of what we celebrate. she knows it inside and out, b/c we taught her. but she also has had a blast with the dreamy, wishy part of the season. she really doesn't expect gifts... but she delights in getting them and i delight in watching my kids have FUN with what we've given them. and if they ask if "santa" gave them a gift that they've unwrapped, i say "sure, but mommy and daddy really know you best so we had a lot to do with it" and they're always like "okay! cool! whatev!" so anyway, that's my take on the whole thing. You really can do it all... just don't make the santa stuff so serious, and then it won't be.
soorrrrryyyy i just wrote a book :).
love
becca
(ps- got some rwandan beans... just came... YUMMMM!)
becca,
ReplyDeletemy mother will love you for writing what you wrote :) i should've worded things better on here to say that i don't care if my kids believe in santa, we just might not actively push santa at home. i'm not going to chastise my kids if they come home and tell me that santa exists. but we haven't decided one way or another, and you are right, we probably shouldn't until we are actually parents. it is really hard for me that santa doesn't visit poor kids, especially because the "historical" st. nick was all about giving to the poor. maybe the point of santa is not that we expect him to give to us but that we become santas to other people. i think that's what we learn from the story of st. nick. i could write another blog post!!
I totally love that idea of "being santas"... especially when they're older... we could pack boxes of needed stuff and send it over to Ethiopia or wherever... and our kids could be "santa's helpers"... okay- write a blog post on that! awesome! :)
ReplyDeleteThere are a few other good reasons to abstain from Santa in my opinion too:) #1. He sounds mythical like Jesus sounds mythical but then we say, wait - when you get older we'll tell you one of them is fake. #2. He teaches that good behavior merits presents, rather than parents giving good gifts out of grace since we're all sinful. #3. It is easier to teach stewardship when you don't do Santa. We teach our kids to take care of their toys because God gives us money so they can have toys. If we tell them Santa swoops in once a year and just presents them with things that are THEIRS, how do we explain how all good gifts are from God?
ReplyDeleteMine are still quite young but they haven't missed it! They don't know to talk about him being fake because we address Santa Claus as St. Nick like someone else suggested. And we celebrate him by doing good deeds!
But, I understand your dilemma.
My mom is ill at me too:)