Santa was never part of my culture, so there I have an excuse
No. But I remember feeling foolish when my wife told me the truth!
LOL! Imagine my husband’s suprise when my mom called and asked for his Santa List! His sister was suprised too… Especially since she’s not married to anyone in the family…But we’re all very close! So, she sends one too! It has been ONE of the things that brings both of our families together.No. But I remember feeling foolish when my wife told me the truth!
Santa was never part of my culture, so there I have an excuse
The problem today is the prominence of Santa Claus. Back in the day Santa wasn’t the central figure. People still recognize that Christmas is about Christ. Today, people don’t even say Christmas. It started with Xmas, now its just Happy Holidays.
Gurney, let me be the first to congratulate you on five thousand posts! Whoohoo! Virtual cake for all!Yep: Operation Remove All the Fun From Holidays 2010!
To our great detriment…
I dont like the Santa Nonsense for the same reason I dont like the Easter Bunny nonsense. 1 ) They derttract from the Purpose of the holiday. And 2) They foster what are essentially lies.
Thanks for sharing your story, WB. It is food for thought. I remember when the girl down the street spoiled Santa (and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy) for my brother and I. I immediately went to Mom and asked her about it, and she confirmed it. I was somewhat disappointed, but that was about it. Then I decided to “pay it forward” and tell my younger cousin.
I never connected the Santa mythos with faith in God and it never even occurred to me to doubt the latter because of the former.Mumbo-jumbo is replacing Christian truth everywhere.
) who truly understands where she got her name and the significance of it. Last night on the way home from the grocery store she said to me, “daddy, listen to this…” and she quoted to me the entire Apostles Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Fatima Prayer, and talked about Jesus. My eldest son knows them all and quotes scripture daily that he learns at his school. My youngest son is learning as well.I agree that we can agree to disagree. I have 5 Children as well and we always look forward to Christmas and from a young age my wife and I have taught all of them what Christmas is and that many people try to take Christ out of Christmas. We have never lied to our kids about the Santa Claus Fantasy and it hasnt taken any of the fun out of Christmas. I remember a couple years ago when Target Stores wanted to advertise their Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees so as not to offend non Christians and the Christians rose up and boycotted their stores , since the Christmas Season make or breaks them financially , it wasnt long before they changed their tune. The moral of the story is , if we dont take a stand today , the things you and I took for granted as Children will soon go away. Look what happened last Christmas in Seattle - where a group of Atheists were successful in getting the Annual Christmas Tree which was put in the Courthouse since the 1800’s disallowed. To me - the Santa Myth is a denial of Christ designed for non Christians. The fact that we as Catholics are accomodating to the secularists only makes their job all that much easier.You’re naturally entitled to your opinion and I respect it. But I disagree. I think I can walk and chew gum. I have a three kids–5, 4, and 2.5 years old. I have a little girl, Veronica, (named after the sixth station of the cross
We talk about our Risen Lord in the house every single day and night. Our home is surrounded by iconography, crucifixes, prayer, images of the Blessed Mother, etc. We have long and deep conversations about Church, salvation, Jesus, the devil, grace, you name it.
My family reads the bible a lot. We pray a lot. We talk about our Lord a lot. We never miss Mass. The kids see us go to Confession. They see us genuflect, they see us try our best.
My kids hear each year that CHRIST is Christmas. The incarnation IS Christmas. The joy of Christmas is the Son of Man. They know that fully. They also have been told that St. Nicholas was a wonderful bishop in Asia Minor who loved children and took pity on the orphans, children, and the poor. They also know he was present at the Council of Nicaea! We talk about St. Nicholas FIRST as a Christian bishop and a man of Christ, a “friend” of the Lord.
From there we add in Rudolph, the sleigh, and the rest. I trust myself as a parent and my wife and I have faith in Christ and my kids. I don’t need to overreact, take the fun out of Christmas, make a sterile environment free of imagination and excitement just because I’m fearful that I’ll harm my kids with santa claus. I think it’s silly. I can walk and chew gum. I know I’m no secularist that preaches a mall-based commercial Christmas where presents and dinner and egg nog are all there is. I know that. The kids know it. I’m good.
So this Christmas Christ WILL be in my home fully and appreciated and loved. But some fun will be there, too.
I know this will ruffle feathers. But I think taking the Santa thing out is just plain sad for kids. I’m glad I didn’t grow up in that kind of house!
) were trying to bring down the twin towers of Santa and Frosty.
Yeah , maybe “Lie” is a bit too harsh , and myth is much better. I think my consternation is directed more at those who emphasize ONLY santa and elves rather than The Nativity of our Lord rather than Catholic parents who incorporate the Santa Myth in an entirely different way. Great insight.I don’t judge your motivation as bad, far from it. And I don’t think you have bad intentions whatsoever. You’re right we can agree to disagree.
I don’t like the “lie” emphasis. It’s just plain fun and myth, enjoying childhood. It’s harsh to label parents as “liars” when they’re just having fun with their kids and choose a different approach than you. So that’s a bit much IMO.
I think we can accomplish the war against secularism (which I happen to agree with you on wholeheartedly!!) hijacking Christmas from Christians without having to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I don’t have a secularist view of it or I wouldn’t have expressed my religious view to you like I did. So we agree about Christ being the center of Christmas. But I disagree with you that Santa is some conspiracy cooked up by anti-Christian secularist hate-mongers with the express purpose of bringing down the holiday into an abyss. I can’t swallow that cake. Christmas myths about Sant Claus are a mixture of many traditions, mostly Dutch and British stories about “Father Christmas” etc. that date back to the 16th century and before. I hardly think the secularists of those days (like there were many “secularists” in the 15th and 16th centuries!
We shouldn’t feel so threatened as long as Christ is the center, Mass on Christmas is respected, nativity stressed, Jesus is prayed to and adored, the incarnation is fully comprehended, songs are primarily sung to Christ, and the holiday is oriented toward Him. If those things are in place and the purpose of this amazing holiday well-explained and respected, a little frosty, rudolph, mistletoe, and Santa are not, IMO, dangerous terrorists to the beauty of Christmas.
I’ll leave it at that. Who’d uh thunk it? I’m debating Santa Claus in a Catholic forum?
