Hello everyone, sorry that I have taken
so long to add to the blog, but it has been a crazy year. However,
with the Christmas season fully upon us, I thought a good festive
blog to finish up the year would be good. Now I know what many of
you are thinking, and 'no', this is not going to be a religious
debate. Even though, no matter the topic it always seems to end up
that way.
“Is it wrong to get your children to
believe in Santa Claus?”
Now I know of a couple of friends of
mine who will be rubbing their hands together with glee at this
topic, but just hear me out. Many people have said that Santa
detracts from the real meaning of Christmas, and to an extent, they
are probably right. However, for very young children, the meaning is
rather difficult to swallow anyway, and getting them to enjoy
something fun as well can be good for them. It is good to teach them
that as they grow up, some truths are fantasy, and some are fact, and
it is also good to teach them how to tell the difference. At the
moment, my children believe that Christmas is Jesus' birthday (See, I
knew it would end up religious, my fault this time) and we celebrate
it appropriately. (This year, they have all written down gifts that
they can give to Jesus such as good deeds, love, etc... on lemon
leaves, put them into boxes, wrapped them up and put them under the
tree. On Christmas morning they are going to open them for him and
throw them into the wind to give them to him.) But, they also
believe that Santa will bring them gifts on Christmas Eve to reward
them for being good throughout the year. As they get older, I will
teach them which things are true, and which are false.
However, none of the above is why I
believe Santa should be encouraged, and it is NOT for the sake of the
children. Think about it, the gift from Santa is always the BEST
gift under the tree. The gift that you have put all years thought
into, and you just KNOW they are going to love it. But do you get
any form of thank you for the gifts given by Santa? No. It is a
selfless gift, given with no possible thank you in return. That is
the reason for Santa. To teach adults how to give selflessly. And
when my children have kids of their own, they too will understand
this special part of Christmas, that I believe helps to embody the
message of Christ.
So, in my humble opinion, I would have
to say no, it is not wrong to teach your children to believe in Santa
Claus, but the sad truth is that the spirit of giving is being lost
to the greed of receiving, and that is the differential that needs to
be recognised.
So, please, let us know what you think.
Do your children believe in Santa? Did you? Do you agree or
disagree? And just for fun, what sort of Christmas traditions does
your family follow at this wonderful time of year?
MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! And may the
true spirit of Christmas fill all of your hearts, enough to last all
of next year!
(That is unless we all die tomorrow...
end of the world you know!)
Thank you - T.J.
