Taking A Blog Sabbatical. Will Return Sometime in The Spring 2012

Why We Don't Celebrate Santa (Part Two)

Yesterday, I wrote about how we have decided to focus more on Christ than Santa and giving than receiving this Christmas at our house.  I was going to write today about the reaction that this decision has made and how that reaction has confirmed to us that we are making the right decision.  But as I began to write about 2 instances where absolute strangers got in an argument with a 4-yr old in public places about the existence of Santa, I decided to let it go and to let this post lead more in a positive direction.  For this part-two post I will share more about what we are doing rather than focusing so much of Christmas on Santa.

I want to say again, because I think this is important, we are not anti-Santa.  We have been reading books about Santa and have been reading and watching The Grinch almost daily (it’s a favorite at our house). We have Santa all over the house from the tree ornaments to Webb’s three Santa hats that he loves to wear (see post from last week about how Webb, who loves to dress up and be characters, made a Santa suit and put his toys in a bag to pretend to give to other people).  The only difference is we have put a proper place for Santa in the overall Christmas celebration and recognized him for the fictional character that he is.  And let me also say, Webb is okay with this.  We talk a lot about truth, and he wants to know when things are true or not. I think he is glad to know that Santa is not real and seems to even be concerned that some of his friends don’t understand this (though he is not allowed to tell them).     

Here are a few things that we have done this year to help Webb understand the meaning of Christmas.  

• Regarding Santa, we have told him the history of St Nicholas and how he would give things to kids in need by filling their socks that were hung up by the fire place to dry.  This seems to be what began his interest in dressing up like the “Real Santa” as he would say and pretend to give his toys to people.
• Webb helped us shop for and pack an Operation Christmas Child box for a needy little boy.  We talked a lot about how this little boy would probably not get any gifts at Christmas if we didn’t give to him. This concept was one of the biggest reasons why the belief in Santa just wouldn’t mesh with what we want to teach him about giving. We also bought a goat and 2 chickens through World Vision to give to a family in Africa.  Webb watched the video and we talked about how much this would help them. He already knows about Africa because we sponsor a 4 yr old boy from there each month. He knows Africa is a place where people need our help.  We feel so blessed to be able to do these small things for others.   
• Andrea has let Webb see most of the gifts that we are giving everyone in our family, and he has “helped” wrap them with her. This has involved him in the giving process and has helped him get excited about the gifts we are giving to others.  
• Every night, throughout the year we read three books before bed. Webb picks one, we pick one, and the other is a story from his children’s Bible.  During Christmas, we have read mostly Christmas books: some about Santa, others about giving, and then one every night about Jesus’ birth. There is no doubt that he knows the story of Jesus’ birth, but this helps him remember that this is the purpose of why we do all that we do at Christmas (celebrate, give gifts, spend time with family...).
• On Christmas Eve we will make cupcakes for Jesus’ birthday and have a small birthday party for him.  Also this year, Webb has asked that we go caroling, and so we have picked a few people in our neighborhood to go and sing a few songs to tonight before bedtime.  Webb is very excited about this.  I will post more about this tonight after it is over.  

Christmas is about celebrating!  One of my favorite parts of the celebration will come Christmas morning as my family will join with my parents and both of my sister’s families at one sister’s house to eat breakfast and open gifts. Christmas is about joy! We will all experience joy on Christmas as we share the day with the ones we love.  Christmas is about giving. We will give gifts to each other because we love.  We celebrate joy and giving because of Jesus. That is what Christmas is all about and, distractions aside, that is what we want to teach our kids. 

Why We Don't Celebrate Santa (Part One)

DISCLAIMER:  The following blog post is going to be controversial, and many people reading this are going to disagree and maybe even think that we have made a bad decision. Oh, well!

 If you ask a child what Christmas is all about, unless they have been prepped, they will usually say: getting presents, playing with new toys, and, of course, Santa.  I remember as a kid being so excited to open presents on Christmas morning and then literally becoming depressed and sad when it was over.  In so many ways, Christmas day represented the end of a huge buildup and an even bigger let down.  There was a strong emphasis of Christ in my family and church, but still in my eyes, Christmas wasn't about giving; it wasn't about celebrating; it wasn't about Jesus!

 Two Christmas' ago, as our oldest son was 3 1/2, we decided not to make a huge deal about Santa. It wasn't that we avoided Santa; we just didn't over emphasis it. This year, as Webb is older and more aware, we have let him know that, like Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and all the other characters that he likes, Santa is fun to talk about, read about, etc, but he is not real, either! We decided that we weren't going to be like so many parents who literally go out of their way to convince their child to think that Santa, in all of his glory, is real. 

 These are some of the reasons why we made this decision: 

1. The purpose of Christmas is Christ. This is highly ignored in our culture, mostly through the substitute of Santa.  We decided that if we believe that, then we need to reflect this in the raising of our kids.  Remember, we have not barred Santa from our house, but we refuse to let him be the center of our Christmas celebration in word, thought, or practice.  
2. It is more healthy to teach giving than receiving.  Giving reflects love, compassion, and the practice of considering others before ourselves.  There is no individual lesson of giving that we can learn from Santa.  Santa gives, but we receive, and as I have already noted, the letdown after the gifts are opened is real and weights heavy.   
3. We really feel like Santa has replaced Jesus as the symbol of Christmas.  Look around, Santa is everywhere. He is at the stores, on the TV, and in the minds of everyone we see. This would seem fine to me if it were in a little more moderation, but we are literally saturated with Santa Claus.  So what, you ask.  Here is the deeper message that I think this is teaching our kids.  One, Christmas is more about Santa than Jesus just based on the pure emphasis comparison.  Secondly, if Santa were real (a magical figure who watches over us as we sleep, knows if we are good or bad, and then brings gifts to us and everyone else in the world all in one day), then there would really be no need for Jesus (at least in the eyes of a child). Is that the message that we want to get across to our kids? 

So, what do you think about this? Do you think we are over-reacting?  Maybe stealing the fun and excitement of Christmas away from my kids? We are not going to celebrate Santa at our house! We will include him as a minor make-believe character of the holiday season, but we are not going to make Santa the center of the celebration.  Yet, there is still so much joy and excitement for Christmas.  Webb is still excited about getting gifts (heck, so am I), but he is equally excited about giving and sharing Christmas with everyone he knows and loves.  

I welcome your feedback about this in order to begin a conversation. You can reply here at the bottom of this post, or on my Facebook page at the post link.  Tomorrow I will post part two of this which will tell of the response and backlash from others (mostly strangers) about this decision we have made.  I think it will surprise you and prove my point even more.  

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Christian Artists Singing 12 Days of Christmas