To Santa or Not To Santa-That Is a Question?

December 17, 2009 Leave a comment

I came across this article on a worship blog. My wife and I have been discussing what we would do when we had kids if we would teach them about Santa or not. We have ultimately decided that it would be best for us to raise our children the truth about who St. Nick was and teach them the reason for the season in our protestant home. Some folks disagree with our decision yet some agree. I think that’s par for the course that my wife and I play on. Keeps life fun that way.
I posted this link on my Facebook and these are a few of the responses I got. I left the last names out to protect the innocent ;) .
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Brandon
To not allow a child the excitement Of learning about Jesus and Santa is extremely selfish and robs the child Of important life lessons! Santa is exciting to a child! If the parent says they do not lie to their children, then what do you tell the child when he or she ask What the noises are coming from the bedroom a night! I bet the parents don’t tell the truth!

Kevin

I think that being a selfish thing is opinionated. Of course I asked for you opinion, so thank you. I don’t see what the important life lessons would be. Don’t listen to your parents, there liars? One friend of mine decided to teach their children the real history behind St. Nick rather than the fable of the made up Santa Clause. We won’t be … See More teaching our child about Santa Clause cause I want my child learning the “excitement” of Jesus Christ and why he came. I’ll figure something out about the noises in the bedroom later, lol.

Theresa
I taught my daughter about the reason for the season and when it came up about santa, I told her that santa was just a fun thing that people do at Christmas.

Juli

It’s not always what the parent teaches the child…they learn about Santa from daycare, school, the media, etc… what’s important is for the parent(s) to explain the REAL reason for the season.

Corrie

I taught my kids about St. Nick,and how much he loved Jesus!!!…also I am truthful with my kids about the “noises” coming from the bedroom…I tell them Daddy is loving mommy!!!:)…What a better way to make a child feel he is in a stable home environment than to know his daddy loves his mommy???????????

Sarah

I have always been with you, Kevin. “When my kids find out that Santa is not real, how would they believe me when I told them about Jesus?” But I have to say – in the last few years, reading GK Chesterton and CS Lewis has been adjusting my perspective. They both believed that fairy tales (incl. Santa) paved the way for the Ultimate Fairy Tale that … See More is ingrained in each of us. About a Prince who ransomed his princess by giving his own life and slaying the dragon. As I look around at a culture raised only on scientific intellectualism (believe only what you can see), and I see that culture have a hard time with the idea of faith, I see the importance of raising my children with the capacity for wonder. I personally have met Jesus in many modern fairy tales: The Lord of the Ring, Chronicles of Narnia, even the Matrix. And at some level, I met him more there than I did in Bible School. I read an article recently that summed up my thoughts well: “Christian apologists like Lewis and Chesterton embraced fairy tales, precisely because to embrace Christian dogma is to embrace the extra rational. As a parent, I believe (with the older apologists) that it’s essential to preserve a small, inviolate space in the heart of a child, a space where he is free to believe impossibilities.” I do not teach Juli that Santa is “truth”, however we have begun to explore the magic and mystery of Christmas (and life), much more than we ever did. As you can see, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this! And I don’t feel I have it figured out yet, but my theology has made room for fairy tales.

Robert

You can’t keep your kids from finding out about satan claus but you can hit them with a pre-emptive strike and teach them the truth

William

I know J.C. I do not know santa
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Juli mentioned it’s not just the parents that are teaching the kids this. It’s also the teacher at school, daycare, media, and etc. I would also agree that these mediums are not just teaching our kids what I would say is a “fun lie” but these mediums are inundating our kid’s lives with other things that the church teaches to be wrong. So I think it is fair to say that it is our duty as parents to protect our children from the things we as the parents do not want our kids to learn. Thanks Juli for that comment.

Corrie mention that those sounds in the bedroom is just Daddy loving Mommy. PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!! I gotta remember that one.

With Sarah’s post, it is very well thought out as I can see she has been struggling with this very same thing. However, I would argue (if you wanna use a word that strong, maybe debate, or just simply question) the idea of comparing fairy tales with twisted truth. I believe Santa Clause is a twisted version of many ideas incorporated into one. Foundational truth being on St. Nick and stories about shamans and flying reindeer being an additive to create a wonderful fairy tale like illusion. I do however see her stand and appreciate where she’s coming from and right on to her if that’s where her convictions lie. Thanks for the comment.

Robert calls him Satan Clause! Need I say more.

Bottom line is I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer. I was raised on Santa Clause, had Santa all over my presents and my parents asked if I was ready for his visit. I even once thought that I saw Rudolph one night coming home from a Christmas party. The red light was NOT blinking so I didn’t think it was an airplane. However, I knew that the story was that Santa came down the chimney. So either my parents were wrong, left the key out on the porch so he could come through the door or it was all just a big lie, cause we had no fireplace. And the sucker still  ate my cookies that mom made me leave out cause I didn’t want to. I wanted those cookies myself.

So stick to your convictions cause I made it through life ok knowing there really wasn’t one. But I refuse to teach my kids about the “fairy tale” of Christmas. They will know who St. Nick and how St. Nick felt about the real reason which was Jesus Christ.

Thanks for reading!!!!

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