It's Christmas! Let's be Glad.I've been thinking a lot about Christmas lately and how each year the consumerism that drives our Western idea of Christmas drives me almost as crazy as the buttery smooth vocals of the Christmas carols being played in the mall. But on a practical note, I'm wondering what Christmas should look like in the context of my immediate family? Lydia and I were talking about this the other day, and although the issue of Santa really won't need to be resolved for another year now (Noah doesn't know Santa from a hole in the wall at this point)... but I'm really wondering:
Sufjan Stevens
since its Christmas let's be glad.
even if your life's been bad.
there are presents to be had.
take a walk out in the snow.
and hear Santa's, "ho ho ho."
he's got a million miles to go.
la la la la la la ah
sing a carol to your mom.
'cause she knows what's going on.
and she knows if you've been bad or good.
and if you'll get what you deserve.
to be graded on the curve.
oh you got a lot of nerve.
la la la la la la ah
since the year is almost out
lift your hands and give a shout
there's a lot to shout about today
since its Christmas let's be glad.
even if the year's been bad.
there are presents to be had.
a promotion for your dad.
Should we allow Santa to bring gifts to our home at Christmas? I'm not proposing the kind of "Santa is evil" mindset, but rather, is it just a fun, mythical element of the Christmas season, or is it something that really contributes to the consumerism that drives our Christmas season, and is it ultimately a barrier to our ability to ever celebrate Christmas in a real way?
This is a difficult thing to resolve in my mind because I don't want to just jump on the fundy bandwagon and revoke my children of the joys of Santa, but i also really don't want them to be writing lists of everything they want for Christmas either-- that just seems wrong to me. The thing i would love to somehow get away from is the "Christmas=presents" mentality. The difficulty also lies in the fact that i know the parents' values are transferred to their children... and i do enjoy giving and receiving gifts, but i am also growing in my intentionality to make the gift giving/receiving a peripheral matter to Christmas, not the core of it.
anyone else processing stuff along these lines?
any thoughts?
3 comments:
good question, i've definitely wondered about this one for us, too. one thing i do believe in is the gift of mystery, wonder and fantasy to our children. and i've seen the kid without it destroy it for the kid who believed in santa or the easter bunny (i was that kid). the loss of it is difficult to rediscover. i hate what santa has become but i love what he began as, as st.nicholas ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas ) who gave secret gifts to orphans... how do we preserve the idea of generosity and surprise without letting the modern day fat man in a red suite become of symbol of greed and leave the real meaning in his shadow? i don't know. but keep talkin'
thanks guys... yeah, that's what i've been thinking lately, and i appreciate your thoughts, phil, on the importance of not robbing our children of mystery. the last thing i want is to raise my kids in a stoic environment, but i also want balance. i've been thinking along what you guys have been saying-- that explaining and exchanging gifts in the spirit of St. Nicholas is a great way to do both...
Yah man that’s a tuffy…
There are good points to be made on either side.
Personally I think Santa Claus is just a Jesus Christ whose message children can understand: "be good, get toys." If you're a Jesusy parent, I see no problem with it.
Morally, you shouldn't lie to your kids about anything. The problem is that your kid, in a couple of years, will show up at kindergarten and let the entire class know the big secret that mommy let him in on.
Why not just treat Santa as a symbol of Christmas like the tree and the presents? There's no need to perpetuate the elaborate story in any kind of holiday celebration, especially since you guys are probably casual about the whole thing.
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