I do not credit any motivation to the development of Santa. Specific aspects may be traced to commercialism, but other aspects developed differently. Even today, we have no one Santa Claus. Some do nothing but sell photoshots. Others help needy children. My Santa helps the needy the most and signs his letters, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph love you” or JMJ.
Do the people you send letters to in the name of Santa believe the letters come from Santa? If so, how do you reconcile that with the 8th commandment?
It is not a lie to omit facts, or to adopt a pseudonym. There is more than one way to convey deeper truths.
A police officer stops me on the highway and asks me what my name is. My name is Joe Smith, but I tell him it’s John Brown. Have I lied to him or simply adopted a pseudonym?
You didn’t ask about writing a letter, but about the lying. Yes, writing a letter is an act of commision, but writing a letter is not a sin of commision. Not all acts are sinful. Using a false name to a police officer is different, as there exists an obligation to speak the truth and not mislead. With a child, the obligation is to teach moral truth, but also to raise them properly. This involves more than just teaching facts, but to teach the heart. I would never raise a child without a sense of the fantastic, using only dry facts and prosaic instruction.
You said that in your house “Santa” writes letters and signs them with a JMJ. So the letter writing and the lying are related.
There are many situations where I prefer not to tell my children everything. At times, I will allow false impressions to endure, for a time.
No I am not, but keep believing what you will, I will still disagree. If the Church ever weighs in on this, then I will listen. You raise your children your way, if you have any.
I make no judgement on your character. I have no reason not to believe you when you profess your sincere intentions to do what you believe is best for your children.
No I am not. Your long-distance judgementalism isn’t very charitable. It is not a lie not to tell everything. You keep your opinions to your action to yourself. Do not judge my actions, especially when you do not even know what my actions are. You say I lie? Perhaps you should check the Catechism’s teaching on rash judgment.
I have not said it is a lie not to tell everything. I have said it is a lie to tell something that you know is untrue.
No I didn’t, and I don’t. I said I sign the letters from Santa Claus, " “Jesus, Mary and Joseph love you” or JMJ. " In fact, I have only been asked once if Santa is real. My answer was not “yes”, but my answer was both a misdirection and a probe to see if I thought it was the year to discuss Santa. Yet my son wanted to keep Santa at least one more time real.
I agree! Been contemplating about this stuff (& other stuff) awhile, especially while hearing my nieces & nephews go on and on about presents they want without recognizing the real significance of Christmas… when I bring up about Jesus being the reason for Christmas, they change the subject… like a tape, a child obsessed with the focus of ‘me’ (individual) mentality and what he/she gets from something by rewinding their favorite part of a song (in this case, their wants; desires; selfish pleasures), so too can children & adults get so caught up in materialism & selfishness to forget/ignore the value of life’s purpose. Someday when I am married and have children, my kids are going to learn the truth from the perspective God intended Christmas (Jesus’ feast day/birthday) to be appreciated, selflessly. Nowadays, if someone brings up the topic- I will speak my mind truthfully- why can’t we all just be honest and let the truth prevail… The Catholic Church is universal and still today remains unbroken (from toxic outsiders)- “it’s not easy, but it’s simple” (God’s Not Dead film quote)~ if we all don’t defend God, who will?.. who else is He going to send for people to simply listen & follow Him?. …nothing wrong with you sharing your opinion- more people need to hear it. Going back in history, one will find that Santa Claus technically was created for a Coca-Cola ad to sell their beverage; most of this nonsense about the fictitious Santa Claus boils down to companies trying to make money from being deceptive, manipulative with propaganda and ads… another example out of many that society today continues to promote deception and ignore giving credit to God the Father (the Creator of all things good)- who deserves to take His place and authority over everything. We were called to know, love, & serve God via Jesus- anything keeping us all from pleasing God alone isn’t worth it nor good for all souls, selflessly and genuinely. May there be an increase in giving God credit for His continuous creations by all of us taking a stand to defend Christ (in the midst of a Christ-less & selfish society) and to above all cling to God and abandon worldly desires; ‘abandon the world. run to God’ (Google image quote). 1 John 2:17.
Very helpful~ thank you!
Not necessarily is it early. I understand what you mean, but the celebration of Christ’s existence is ongoing- not just a holiday in December… He is much more than that. If we let it, integrating Christ into our daily lives amid the holiday ‘wars’ and everything else we experience can have a huge impact than just getting thru something.