Which Man did you think I was referring to?
What to do with Santa?
Apparently, some people get really upset about the issue!
Grown adults get more irritated than kids, if you ask me.
One adult got so mad about it she had to leave the room. Another was so passionate about "agreeing" with me that she stuffed words in my mouth.
Two years ago I had the best discussion on this blog because I dared blog about our decision to tell our children the truth about Santa when they asked. I loved all the great points people brought up on both sides of the issue. In fact, lots of those reasons (both ways) trickled into my head and heart and shaped how Joel and I feel about the issue today.
The bottom line for us is that once our kids asked us the question, we had to tell the truth. We could not lie to them; the same way we don't lie to them when they ask us where Cinderella and Prince Charming live. We explain that it's a fairy tale. Except, the neat thing about Santa is that we get to tell our kids a great story about a man who loved the poor and discovered the great blessing of being generous.
Let me clarify where we're at right now: We {heart} St. Nicholas around here. We don't ban Santa. Some people do, but we don't. However, we don't really talk about it that often. If he comes up in conversation, we listen. I ask a question or two, like "what do you think about that?" I spend most of my time emphasizing Jesus' birth, generosity, joy, peace, hope, and love. I want to major on the Main Man and why "Santa" exists at all.
The last two years have been interesting. Our kids have talked about Santa at the weirdest times, usually when it's not the Christmas season. This summer, Rylee had a full week of bringing up the topic at random moments. I think she was struggling with the issue of truthfulness and the whole issue of Santa stuck out in her mind.
[The fact that Rylee struggles with not exaggerating and being truthful is reason enough for me to be glad we told her the truth when she asked us two years ago. I've struggled with being a deceiver myself and know the sly ways half-truths slip in and swallow you up. I see amazing beauty in talking to my daughter about the Truth of Christmas.]
Several years ago I did a Christmas book countdown. I came across The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving and we added it to our collection. We read it the other night and the kids and I all enjoyed it. I think good books are great tools for helping kids understand things.
If every Santa pointed back to Jesus, he wouldn't be such a controversial figure. Unfortunately, Santa has become the main man for many during this season with getting gifts as a major focus. It's easy to forget that God gave and wants us to do the same.
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