This was going to be this long and detailed explanation of the whys and wherefores that went into our decision to not celebrate Santa Claus with our children. But, I have four--one, two, three, four!--children under the age of seven and that sort of post will be left for someone with only one soundly sleeping child, or the mother whose children are at least somewhat grown.
Here's the simple, edited-for-time-allowed version: we don't celebrate Santa Claus because of Jesus. No, not just because Christmas is supposed to be the time we celebrate God coming to be with us. We still put up a tree and hang lights and sing carols and bake (too many) cookies and exchange gifts. We don't celebrate Santa because Santa is a fictional character our kids can't see to believe in. Jesus, on the other hand, is a real person our kids can't see, but need to believe in. When these little people started wandering into our lives, we wanted to only tell them the truth. Lying to them about the existence of a white-bearded gift-giver was wrong for us. I'm not judging other believing parents who do perpetuate Santa. (If you have prayed this out and have freedom to do so, go for it.) We know that this is how God would have us be obedient in this area.
So, that's the not-so-long scoop. Where does your family stand concerning Santa?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Why We Don't Celebrate Santa
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2 comments:
You probably know what we do...we do have stockings, and we talk about Saint Nicholas (who was a real person). We talk about "playing Santa"--about how it's fun to bless people without them knowing who the giver is, and about how the Bible tells us to be generous, and giving in secret. It's hard to fight Santa when your kids are in secular child care/school...
I feel the same way you do. Amen.
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