I don't know how many who might actually read this have ever struggled with this issue or not, but Katie (my dearly beloved wife) and I have really wrestled with the whole Santa Claus thing. We both see pros and cons to either. Recently, however, I came across two different articles on the issue that has me thinking even harder about it. The first one is by Thabiti Anyabwile and the other by Noel Piper. I will post the links to where I found them below. I would LOVE to hear anyone's thoughts after having read the articles, offering personal insights into what you and your family have done in the past.
Thabite Anyabwile's article can be found here.
Noel Piper's article can be found here.
Please let me know your thoughts....
5 comments:
You said they were two different articles, but they both represent the same point of view. i grew up in a Christian home. My daddy was a Baptist deacon. We have raised our children in a Christian home. But we still do Santa. I have ornaments of Santa kneeling before the Christ child. My church gave them to me. I think you should do what feels right for your family and leave the arguing up to the "experts". I also have nails, spikes really, hanging on our tree, to represent and celebrate the true meaning.
You asked...lol
My comment became a post...look for it Wednesday if you want.
We chose to "do Santa" when our kids were little. Both of us grew up with it and saw no harm. Our oldest figured it out at age 9, but our youngest wasn't as quick to catch on. Now, looking back, I see that on many of those Christmases, as hard as I tried for it not be, the focus was so much more on Santa on Christmas morning than Jesus. That hurts to even say. We had many traditions that we did to point to Christ,(Bible read, plays performed,advent calendar,carols sung,nativity stories & decorations..you name it) but over all, it seems, Santa got the most attention FROM THE KIDS..on Christmas morning. This year will be our first Christmas with both our children "in the know" and I have to say I am so relieved! We are going to have a big Jesus' Birthday celebration and I for one am very excited!
I agree with the first article that pressure from grandparents and family can be intense and standing against that can be OH SO TOUGH. But, if I had to do it over again, I would choose to omit Santa and give Christ the first and only place in our Christmas.
--Sheryle
I honestly never even realized this to be an issue until I guess it was too late. I had Santa. I still believe in God. I always knew that Christmas was about Jesus, not really Santa. When I questioned, I was told Santa was God's "helper." When I knew the truth, the truth of Jesus was still in me, with me, ingrained. It cannot be lost. Who do we talk about more at my house? Jesus. Will it always be that way when the kids get older? I guess that is the good thing about becoming aware of the argument. I will try harder and be more aware of the issue and make it that way... I pray. Did we make the right decision? I don't know... probably not. Guess all that can be done now is pray that no more damage was done to our children than to us. I'm not even sure our son really believes it. I think he might even recognize it as a "game." We don't even really talk about Santa that much...maybe we can keep it that way.... when he starts to get in the way of Jesus on Christmas, then we put a stop to it....
I agree with Dianne that both sides are not represented in these articles. However, as a grandparent, I want to be very supportive and sensitve to what my children decide to do about this with their own children. I remember 2 instances from my childhood regarding this issue. One is my profound disappointment when I found out the truth from some neighborhood friends. Their Dad was a police officer and they had very little materially. They told me that parents had to pay taxes on everything Santa brought. ??? Naturally, that led me to ask my mom some questions and the truth came tumbling out. I was so sad. Then, about a year later when I was the only child in the family who "knew," my Mom tucked me into bed on Christmas Eve knowing how badly I was hoping for a bicycle. She whispered in my ear to remember that they had to replace the transmission in the car recently. I guess that was to keep the mystery alive or something. I DID get the bicycle and am still confused as to why she had to bring up the transmission issue. Bottom line?? Even the most wonderful parents in the world aren't able to get everything right all the time. We all do the very best we can. As our faith and convictions grow, our actions will evolve, too. Would I do things differently if I had my children's childhood to do over? Most definitely! But, to my way of thinking, they turned out mighty well IN SPITE OF me. It must have been because of their amazing Dad. :)
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