Santa Claus

  • Thread starter Thread starter tGette
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

tGette

Guest
I am curious what people think about Santa Claus:

Do you agree with him being a part of Christmas?
If so…to what degree?
If not…why not?

My opinion is that people are lying to their children about this guy who is seemingly omniscient and on-par with God (as he watches to see if you are naughty or nice.) Especially when they use the tactic of “you better be good or Santa is not going to bring you any presents”.

I also feel like Santa Claus takes away from Christ being the focus of Christmas.

Can’t Christmas be just as exciting for children learning about Angels rejoicing and singing over the birth of this Child?

Or that they receive gifts because God so loved us that He gave us His only begotten Son and so we give to each other because of this.

I feel like Santa Claus has perpetuated the materialism of Christmas.

I also feel like…if there were no Santa Claus then it would cause non-believers to seriously reconsider why they celebrate Christmas.

Though…I do not feel like there is anything wrong with the Santa Claus story itself…as long as it is taught to be make believe, like Spiderman, etc.

I know many will think or say that it is harmless…but is it?
Can you honestly say that even if both are incorporated that children are more excited about Jesus that Santa?

Poor Saint Nicholas lived his life for Christ and his efforts have been turned into a fairy tale.

Thoughts?
**
I just want to give Christmas back to Jesus!**
 
This thread came up last year near Christmas and caused quite a reaction. Some feel as you do and others don’t. My children are grown and my grandchildren are too old to believe in Santa. But I think you take something away from childhood when children are told that there is no Santa. And IMO that has nothing to do with Christmas being Christ’s birthday. There are many things that you can do to bring out that aspect of the Christmas season. There is the Advent wreath and a creche that you can add different figures to the scene as the season progresses. This is granny talking, but children get to be children so short a time these days, I say, let them enjoy both.
 
mary_bobo said:
This thread came up last year near Christmas and caused quite a reaction. Some feel as you do and others don’t. My children are grown and my grandchildren are too old to believe in Santa. But I think you take something away from childhood when children are told that there is no Santa. And IMO that has nothing to do with Christmas being Christ’s birthday. There are many things that you can do to bring out that aspect of the Christmas season. There is the Advent wreath and a creche that you can add different figures to the scene as the season progresses. This is granny talking, but children get to be children so short a time these days, I say, let them enjoy both.
Click to expand...
Is Christmas itself not enjoyable enough for children?
And it is not like they would have ever believed in him in the first place to be bummed out about it. So you would not really “tell them there is no Santa” you just would “never tell them there is a Santa”

Is them having a rock-solid faith not more important?

Sometimes children question whether this God stuff is real when they find out Santa is not real.

Can’t we say we would be taking away from their faith?

Is a little bit of “magic” at childhood worth what awaits us in Heaven?
 
tGette said:
I am curious what people think about Santa Claus:

Do you agree with him being a part of Christmas?
If so…to what degree?
If not…why not?

My opinion is that people are lying to their children about this guy who is seemingly omniscient and on-par with God (as he watches to see if you are naughty or nice.) Especially when they use the tactic of “you better be good or Santa is not going to bring you any presents”.

I also feel like Santa Claus takes away from Christ being the focus of Christmas.

Can’t Christmas be just as exciting for children learning about Angels rejoicing and singing over the birth of this Child?

Or that they receive gifts because God so loved us that He gave us His only begotten Son and so we give to each other because of this.

I feel like Santa Claus has perpetuated the materialism of Christmas.

I also feel like…if there were no Santa Claus then it would cause non-believers to seriously reconsider why they celebrate Christmas.

Though…I do not feel like there is anything wrong with the Santa Claus story itself…as long as it is taught to be make believe, like Spiderman, etc.

I know many will think or say that it is harmless…but is it?
Can you honestly say that even if both are incorporated that children are more excited about Jesus that Santa?

Poor Saint Nicholas lived his life for Christ and his efforts have been turned into a fairy tale.

Thoughts?
**
I just want to give Christmas back to Jesus!**
Click to expand...
The focus of our Christmas is the Nativity. During Advent, we slowly add to our manger scene and anxiously await the arrival of baby Jesus, and then the Wise men come quite some time later.

We ‘did’ Santa, but the thought of him was a mere blink of the eye. Only one gift ever came from Santa per year and it always was something rather small and inexpensive. We never said that Santa was watching or that we had to be good in order for Santa to come. For us, that would be wrong for our family. Who needs Santa to watch us when we know God is taking care of that? 👍

God bless you,

Kelly
 
kell0618 said:
The focus of our Christmas is the Nativity. During Advent, we slowly add to our manger scene and anxiously await the arrival of baby Jesus, and then the Wise men come quite some time later.

We ‘did’ Santa, but the thought of him was a mere blink of the eye. Only one gift ever came from Santa per year and it always was something rather small and inexpensive. We never said that Santa was watching or that we had to be good in order for Santa to come. For us, that would be wrong for our family. Who needs Santa to watch us when we know God is taking care of that? 👍

God bless you,

Kelly
Click to expand...
I am glad to hear there was none of that manipulation some parents use…or the scare tactics of “no presents”.

I wonder though…with how little Santa was incorporated…was it even necessary?

I guess I think from a kid’s perspective…they are being told all this amazing stuff about Christ and the Nativity, etc…and…ALSO there is this guy who brings presents. Of course…the idea is even weirder if the full Santa is taught (reindeer, coming down chimneys, North Pole, etc.)
 
For our kids, we never made a huge deal about it either way. Oh, once and a while, we said a little white lie about him, but nothing significant. We also never went out of our way too much to hide our shopping–of course, we hid their presents. Most importantly, we always stressed that baby Jesus was what Christmas was all about. It seemed with both of our kids the belief in Santa Clause was less a conviction than something to play with; I think they recognized the whole notion as pretty implausible fairly early. When the truth was clear, I believe we also made an effort to tell the story of the real Saint Nick.

I decided to take a poll here, and my daughter says she had it all figured out by first grade. My son claims he knew the secret by 4, but I am not so sure about that.

If you don’t make a big deal about it, kids are smart. They figure it out on their own, but the fairy tale is nice for a couple years. After all, kids don’t have enough fairy tales to believe in these days, but that’s the start of another thread.
 
tGette said:
I am curious what people think about Santa Claus:

Do you agree with him being a part of Christmas?
If so…to what degree?
If not…why not?

My opinion is that people are lying to their children about this guy who is seemingly omniscient and on-par with God (as he watches to see if you are naughty or nice.) Especially when they use the tactic of “you better be good or Santa is not going to bring you any presents”.

I also feel like Santa Claus takes away from Christ being the focus of Christmas.

Can’t Christmas be just as exciting for children learning about Angels rejoicing and singing over the birth of this Child?

Or that they receive gifts because God so loved us that He gave us His only begotten Son and so we give to each other because of this.

I feel like Santa Claus has perpetuated the materialism of Christmas.

I also feel like…if there were no Santa Claus then it would cause non-believers to seriously reconsider why they celebrate Christmas.

Though…I do not feel like there is anything wrong with the Santa Claus story itself…as long as it is taught to be make believe, like Spiderman, etc.

I know many will think or say that it is harmless…but is it?
Can you honestly say that even if both are incorporated that children are more excited about Jesus that Santa?

Poor Saint Nicholas lived his life for Christ and his efforts have been turned into a fairy tale.

Thoughts?
**
I just want to give Christmas back to Jesus!**
Click to expand...
Amen, tGette. I agree with everything you’ve said here. I made sure with our children that they knew Santa Claus was fictional. My wife said it was being extreme because it would take joy away from our kids. I told her that if we focus on the gift of eternal life given in the actual Christmas story, that is true joy.
 
False dichotomy.
tGette said:
Is them having a rock-solid faith not more important? Faith is clearly more important. Santa Clause does nothing to diminish my children’s faith. False dichotomy.
Sometimes children question whether this God stuff is real when they find out Santa is not real. Sometimes children think there are monsters in the closet. So are you suggesting we never put closets in kids rooms?
Can’t we say we would be taking away from their faith? Maybe for your kids but not for mine. We go all out with Santa. My kids wanted to believe as long as possible. But they make Happy Birthday, Jesus cards on their own initiative. They hide Baby Jesus so my husband can’t put him in any of the dozen or so nativity sets until Christmas Eve. They rush to open the days on the nativity scene Advent calendar. If anything, Santa adds to the festivity but it does not diminish their faith a bit.

Is a little bit of “magic” at childhood worth what awaits us in Heaven? One does not risk the other so another false dichotomy.
Click to expand...
Now as a culture, I agree, we have “back seated” the Nativity story for Santa and Snowmen. However, as a family, my family, there is no problem. But don’t get me started on Snowmen. There’s nothing Christmas about them - just a way for the purely secular and non-Christian retailers to push a holiday without Christ’s Mass. :mad: No snowmen in my Christmas decorations.
 
Why not tell them the story of the real St. Nicholas in ways that stress the similarities between the reality and the 20th-Century Santa Claus? Tell them the differences when they ask, item by item, with explanations of what the changes symbolize and why they mean so much to some people?
Like this:
“Mama, is this present from Santa Claus?”
“No, baby, this present is from me.”
“Is there a Santa Claus?”
“There sure is.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in Heaven.”
“Why did the commercial say he was at the North Pole?”
“Because it’s always winter there. Some people feel better thinking he lives where it’s cold and pretty because we think of him at Christmas time.”
“How come my friend said good children always get lots of stuff rom Santa Claus?”
“Maybe she got it a little bit mixed up. He helps poor people sometimes. Are you going to open your present?”
 
tGette said:
Sometimes children question whether this God stuff is real when they find out Santa is not real.
Click to expand...
I very clearly remember my mother telling my sister and I the real story about Santa. My sister took it kind of hard, but I had long since figured it out myself. Anyway, after a long, thoughtful explaination, everyone was real quiet. Finally my sister asked, “What about the Easter Bunny.” My mother, trying to supress a laugh responded, “Yes, the Easter Bunny too.” Being the rotten kid that I was, and even at that young age realizing that my mother had a few religious “issues,” and recognizing the opportunity to have a bit of fun at her expense, I asked, “What about Jesus?” My mother looked at me as if I had just gone “number two” on the kitchen floor. The words just seemed to echo in the room, until my little sister finally said, “Yeah, what about Jesus?”

Let’s just say that I didn’t particularly enjoy the rest of ***that ***day.
 
SHEESH!

I still believe in Santa Claus.

Whats the point of being Catholic if you can’t believe in Santa Claus forever???

MarysRoses
 
TriuneUnity said:
Amen, tGette. I agree with everything you’ve said here. I made sure with our children that they knew Santa Claus was fictional. My wife said it was being extreme because it would take joy away from our kids. I told her that if we focus on the gift of eternal life given in the actual Christmas story, that is true joy.
Click to expand...
:amen::amen: I say to you!
 
MarysRoses said:
SHEESH!

I still believe in Santa Claus.

Whats the point of being Catholic if you can’t believe in Santa Claus forever???

MarysRoses
Click to expand...
Does this have anything to do with that book:
“Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” ???
 
One I learned the real story of Santa, I now make sure the legend is a part of every Christmas celebration.
 
historyb said:
Of Course, I am more than happy to. The true legend is of St. Nicolas and what he did when three girls were to be sold into slavery. This linkl explains it all, it is long so I’ll just post the link

stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38
Click to expand...
Right on!
I thought you meant that once you learned “the truth about the lie of Santa” that it made you want to pass that tradition of teaching kids about the fictional Santa.

Now I am on track with you!

Definitely the real “good ol’ Saint Nic” deserves the recognition!
 
Strictly based on the title of this thread:
Nothing more than a commercialized thing !!

Salute & Cheers from a NON BELIEVER:
– Laurent LUG (.@…), september 8, 2008
 
Since I make a point of never lying to my children, here’s how I handled the issue of Santa Claus with my two daughters:

When they were little, I told them Santa brings them presents on Christmas Eve. I said nothing about reindeer, the North Pole, a man in a red suit, or anything of the sort. I just said Santa brings them presents.

When my older daughter got to the age when she was questioning it all, I sat her down one afternoon when her sister wasn’t there. I told her she was old enough to understand more about Santa. I explained that Santa was any person who gave a Christmas gift anonymously without expecting a thank-you. I explained that she herself had been Santa when she had helped pick out a gift for a child from the Angel Tree at the mall. I then invited her to help her Daddy and me be Santa that Christmas by staying up after her sister went to bed so she could help fill the stockings.

Well, she was absolutely delighted. Now that both of my girls are teens, they trade off being Santa (and the Easter Bunny!) each year. They both get a huge kick out of it, and of course they also want to select a child from the Angel Tree every year and be Santa to that child too.

By doing it this way not only did I keep from lying to my kids but I was able to preserve all the magic of Christmas for them both when they were little and also now that they are almost grown.
 
I love Santa Claus, but after spending 5 years in Bolivia S.A. I found his growing influence there sad. My spanish teacher said when she was a kid they would wait for the gifts baby jesus would bring them, and then in january the gifts the magi brought. Now its Santa Claus. Still nothing like here in the USA but sad. I was in Germany 10 years ago in the countrside and they had a man dresses like St Nick bishops miter and all. Found it refreshing. I like Santa, but only if he stays in the US
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top