Sacred Santa Cow
This may well be the most controversial blog post I have ever done!!
But my brave friend Dan posted a blog about this subject which has been on my mind probably over the last few Christmases.
He states in regards to Santa:
At what point did tradition trump morality? When did it become acceptable to
lie for the sake of fun? Right and wrong isn't determined by the out come of a situation, family tradition, how fun it is, or what everyone else is doing.
He then recounts stories of people who still remember being traumatized by learning that Santa wasn't real - that in fact their parents had been lying to them for years. He tells of people who have struggled in the area of faith in God.
Before I cause an uproar and get accused of being a spoil sport or a fanatic...Lemme premise by saying:
1 - I don't hate Santa
2- I am not about raining on other people's parades.
3 - I don't think people who play the Santa game are evil.
That said, I really do question why this tradition exists...If you break it down, it truly is about telling kids a lie and then making up other lies to cover up previous ones (especially when they start asking questions as they get older). Parents weave a tangled web of deceit for the sake of "fun" at Christmas. We know that eventually they will find out it's all just make-believe...And so, what's wrong with make-believe? Well, usually in make-believe all parties involved understand that make-believing is going on and agree to the pretending. Lying and pretend play aren't the same thing.
I understand the "spirit of Santa is real in people's hearts" argument. I know that there really was a St. Nick and he gave gifts to all the children in his town or something to that effect. He was a nice man. And to carry on that tradition is a good idea. I just am really starting to think the Santa lie isn't such a good plan. It plays on the innocence of children and the gift of faith that God has given them. A gift to believe in a world beyond this one. A world that truly exists. There's someone better than Santa who really loves us. REALLY LOVES US. With His life He loves us. Kids trust grown-ups to tell them the truth...In this case, why make up a lie when the Truth is so much better?
And if the idea of God doesn't seem nearly as cool as Santa...Then I'd argue that someone has been lying to you about who the real God is and all the gifts He has for anyone who will reach out to receive them. They are eternal. They are unimaginably wonderful. I am just now beginning to grasp this myself.
But my brave friend Dan posted a blog about this subject which has been on my mind probably over the last few Christmases.
He states in regards to Santa:
At what point did tradition trump morality? When did it become acceptable to
lie for the sake of fun? Right and wrong isn't determined by the out come of a situation, family tradition, how fun it is, or what everyone else is doing.
He then recounts stories of people who still remember being traumatized by learning that Santa wasn't real - that in fact their parents had been lying to them for years. He tells of people who have struggled in the area of faith in God.
Before I cause an uproar and get accused of being a spoil sport or a fanatic...Lemme premise by saying:
1 - I don't hate Santa
2- I am not about raining on other people's parades.
3 - I don't think people who play the Santa game are evil.
That said, I really do question why this tradition exists...If you break it down, it truly is about telling kids a lie and then making up other lies to cover up previous ones (especially when they start asking questions as they get older). Parents weave a tangled web of deceit for the sake of "fun" at Christmas. We know that eventually they will find out it's all just make-believe...And so, what's wrong with make-believe? Well, usually in make-believe all parties involved understand that make-believing is going on and agree to the pretending. Lying and pretend play aren't the same thing.
I understand the "spirit of Santa is real in people's hearts" argument. I know that there really was a St. Nick and he gave gifts to all the children in his town or something to that effect. He was a nice man. And to carry on that tradition is a good idea. I just am really starting to think the Santa lie isn't such a good plan. It plays on the innocence of children and the gift of faith that God has given them. A gift to believe in a world beyond this one. A world that truly exists. There's someone better than Santa who really loves us. REALLY LOVES US. With His life He loves us. Kids trust grown-ups to tell them the truth...In this case, why make up a lie when the Truth is so much better?
And if the idea of God doesn't seem nearly as cool as Santa...Then I'd argue that someone has been lying to you about who the real God is and all the gifts He has for anyone who will reach out to receive them. They are eternal. They are unimaginably wonderful. I am just now beginning to grasp this myself.
Comments
Amen? Really?! Cool! :) Thanks!
We don't do the Feast of St. Nick at our house -- where you get candy in your shoe on Dec. 6th (even though I grew up Catholic we never did that so it's not something I ever thought about for my kids). Anyway, this year, my 8-year-old, talking about kids in her class that don't believe in Santa but believe in St. Nick, said, "How can they believe in some guy who comes in their house in the middle of the night just to put candy in their shoe?" I said "Oh, well, do you believe in Santa Claus?" She looked at me like I was crazy and/or stupid and said emphatically "Yeah!" I guess she'll only believe if the presents are big enough. Some candy in her shoe doesn't cut it!
Your last paragraph says it all: "Then I'd argue that someone has been lying to you about who the real God is and all the gifts He has for anyone who will reach out to receive them." I didn't know about "the real God" for so long and I didn't even know that I didn't know!! My prayer is that my kids don't have that problem. I'm not overly worried that believing in Santa will screw them up but if it does -- you can always SOZO them, right!
Kelly - If Doug logged into Blogger before you did then it is probably remembering him...You'd need to log out and log back in under your account. :)
I actually don't care if anyone changes or not. I am just beginning to see the bigger picture now. We had the santa lie. It didn't damage me but I was raised with a relatively healthy image of God. But if I ever had kids I wouldn't play the Santa game. I'd find some other way to make the season "magical"...