Do you remember being a kid around Christmastime? That sense of anticipation that hung in the air so thick you could almost cut it with a butter knife? That unparalleled giddiness you had waking up on Christmas morning? The rush to get to the Christmas tree where mounds of presents lay waiting for you that had not been there the night before? Oh, sweet Santa!
Yeah, I remember that too. But, we have decided to not include the traditional teaching of Santa Clause as a living, breathing, magical being in our family Christmas celebrations.
~Gasp~
I know. It's kind of a revolutionary idea as I'm finding out by people's reactions when I tell them. People give you a funny look, their mouths hang open for a moment as they try to wrap their minds around a Christmas without a "real" Santa Clause visiting my poor, deprived child(ren). They quickly regroup and then present arguments about why that is absurd and we clearly have gone off the deep end. Oh, yes, our culture's ties to the man in the big red suit run very deep indeed.
But, this is an idea/ideal that we started toying around with before our firstborn ever came along. I was expecting strong reactions from certain people in our family, people who always have strong reactions to everything, but was taken aback by the strong reactions we got from some of our Christian friends. And, as seems to be par for the course in parenthood, complete strangers even feel the right to interject their thoughts on the subject.
Our initial reasoning were some that you might expect or have heard before from other people that have gone down the Santaless road:
~ We don't want to lie to our children. Not just lie, but create elaborate plans to help our children believe the lie.
~ We feel that some of the "truths" children are taught about Santa such as knowing all, being an invisible being who is real, etc conflict with eternal truths that we are teaching our children at the same exact time about their Lord and Saviour.
~ Santa is about generosity personified. But, in our day and culture, we live in a time of giveme, giveme, giveme...I want, I want, I want. We feel that Santa is used to perpetuate that mindset in children. He is afterall, an advertiser's dream.
~ Santa outshines the birthday boy. Christmas is a religious holiday and observation which celebrates the birth of Christ the Messiah. Santa has become an idol of sorts. Don't believe me? Check out the Santa line at the mall the next time you are there.
~ If Santa gives gifts to all good boys and girls, what about children who don't receive gifts for reasons like poverty? Doesn't that make them naughty children?
But, it goes deeper than that. We've really been reflecting on this decision lately. How do you explain not doing Santa as a Christian family when so many other Christian families do. We have family and friends who are not Christians, so being able to really thoughtfully answer their questions/arguments on the subject is really important. They are watching what we do, what other Christians are doing, and are comparing that to what they do and the world that they are apart of is doing.
Obviously, lots of families, both Christian and pagan all over celebrate Christmas with an inclusion of the traditional Santa Clause teaching. Lots of children, upon learning of their parents and the world's deceit on the subject do not lose faith in their families. Nor do they consider them liars. Lots of children raised on Santa do go on to have strong, vibrant relationships with Christ.
So, why is it such a big deal for our family? The conclusion that my husband and I have come to, is that it is a lesson in obedience. God has laid this Santaless conviction on BOTH of our hearts. The question is, will we obey? Will we lay at our Father's feet all of our parenting decisions, both great and small?
Because, to be honest, it would be easier for us to shrug this conviction off. To say, well we were raised with Santa and turned out fine. To say, everyone else we know does Santa...they'll think we're weird or over-religious and self-righteous. To say, I don't want to risk our kids spilling the beans to their playmates, so lets have them believe in it as well. To just be like everyone else. But, we aren't like everyone else. We are aliens in this world. So, it's okay to do things differently.
God doesn't call all Christian parents to let go of Santa. But, He has called this parent and her spouse to let him go. That's the distinction. It's not about us, it's about God. It's about being obedient to Him. If we can't lay at the Lord's feet these small and seemingly insignificant parental decisions, how will we be prepared to hand over decisions that are a literal matter of eternal life and death?
"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible."
~ Proverbs 24:12
P.S. The Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy are out too.
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