I believe children are bright, alert, flexible little creatures that
can readily discern the joy of illusion from true reality when
reaching a certain age and maturity. They most often will not hold a
grudge against parents for creating wonderful memories of the
Christmas holidays.
This is not to say, Christmas should be materialistic and all about
gifts and sweets! Telling the story of Christ’s birth is essential
from the time a child is small, but continuing the story of gift
giving and sharing with the poor isn’t all bad either. After all, it
is a true story about a man named St. Nicholas of Myrna who was born
to wealthy Christian parents, and died around 350 AD. After his
parents passed, he inherited their wealth and had such compassion
for the poor that he began dropping large sums of money down
chimneys in the night, (when coals had extinguished) to those in
need during Christ’s Mass…..later known as Christmas.
The name Santa Claus is the American version of what the Dutch
called him when they started immigrating to America in the early
1800’s.
Below I have listed Pros and Cons of the argument over telling
children about the Santa of old, or (when they are too small to
understand the true story,) letting them believe in Santa of today.
PROS……..Telling children there is a fat man in a red suit, living at
the North Pole with his wife and a bunch of elves in green suits,
working diligently all year to prepare gifts to be delivered on
Christmas Eve to well behaved little boys and girls is not harmful
to children because: (Boy that was a mouthful!)
A) It is a lovely fantasy to the creative and suggestive mind of
adolescent children.
B) It is as equal and wonderful in a child’s make-believe world as
reading Hans Christian Anderson books to them.
C) Children need less ‘Reality TV’ and more light-hearted fun
activities in their early lives.
D) Children are too young to comprehend the true meaning of why
Christians celebrate Christmas.
CONS…….However, some people believe it is harmful because:
A) It is a lie that teaches children it is okay to be dishonest for
the sake of fun and frivolity.
B) It makes children insecure when they realize their own parents
deceived them with the story of Santa Claus.
C) Children need to be prepared early for the reality of what awaits
them as adults coping in the world.
D) If children are taught make-believe about celebrating Christmas,
some Christians believe they won’t conceive of the idea of it truly
being a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
As for me, ol’ Granny Tam, I think I missed a lot because my father
was a realist in hard times, and wouldn’t let us believe our meager
gifts came from Santa Claus but from his hard working hands. I
understand why now, but for all the joy it would have given my
brothers and I in an otherwise severe existence, what harm could it
have done? I personally think it was almost cruel to deprive us of
that belief, and have to swear us to secrecy in not telling our
playmates or family members the truth.
Sadly, we were not Christians as children so that was not the
concern a lot of parents have today; if they lie to their children
about a fantasy such as Santa Claus, it may lead their children not
to believe the story of our savior, Jesus Christ, when they tell the
children about the real reason we celebrate Christmas.
But lighten up folks, and have a joyous Christmas with the little
ones. You’ll prosper from the sheer delight in their eyes on
Christmas morning thinking ol’ fat Santa and his reindeer brought
them some presents, (even if there are but a few gifts under the
tree.) You don’t need to buy their joy and happiness with mountains
of toys. That only confuses children. One gift from you, and one
from grandparents and other family members is quite enough.
Have a Merry Christmas this season, and don’t forget to keep Christ
in the celebration, and in your hearts all year long.
My vote is to have Christmas traditions all year round. You see at
Christmas time most people at least the ones I have met, always change just a
little for the better around Christmas. I do not know whether or not it is the
great yuletide Christmas carols, the festive atmosphere every where you go, or just some
hidden part in all of us that screams out,
(I BELIEVE IN MORE THAN WHAT I SEE AROUND ME.)
You see, somewhere deep down
inside we all believe in something better than we now have or see, and most of
us feel a lot better when we help someone. Whether the person is in need or not, this feeling
is what I call the feeling of Christmas, and we all should strive to feel this way all year long.
"TREAT ALL OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM TREAT YOU"
"Merry Christmas"
Enhance your Christmas, with
Christmas poems and stories highlighted with your favorite Christmas carols.
Christmas traditions are fast becoming a family way of life.
Poems are a simple way of inspiring others to join in on the Christmas
traditions that love and poems can bring to this Christmas holiday.
My vote is to have Christmas traditions all year round. You see at
Christmas time most people at least the ones I have met, always change just a
little for the better around Christmas. I do not know whether or not it is the
great yuletide Christmas carols, the festive atmosphere every where you go, or just some
hidden part in all of us that screams out,