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Slaves, dwarfism, and magic mushrooms. Oh my. Who knew that Christmas was so perverse? All that's missing now is Sasquatch.
Oops - my bad for showing such insensitivity toward any hairy woodland creatures out there who might be reading this on their laptop.
I got one better...lol...I had a boss that was so intent on telling his children the "truth"...(because one's imagination is sinful ya know) that when Disney came out with Pocohanas, he refused to let his daughters watch it.
Because it wasn't the 'truth" (yet he let them watch the Lion King...go figure)
He went so far to contact the Chief of the tribe she belonged to so he could "show" them the "truth". The Chief burst out in laughter and then calmly replied...to this day, it all depends on which version you chose to believe.
My personal opinion is...Santa is harmless, he can be used as a good example of unconditional giving. In my house, Santa gives presents to Mrs Clause and Mrs Claus gives to Santa. When we send the presents to the kids...there's always something from Santa to them.
A Child's imagination is a wonderful thing. I hate seeing people try to control it.
Slaves, dwarfism, and magic mushrooms. Oh my. Who knew that Christmas was so perverse? All that's missing now is Sasquatch.
Oops - my bad for showing such insensitivity toward any hairy woodland creatures out there who might be reading this on their laptop.
Didn't you ever ask as a child WHY you did certain rituals during the holidays? I finally got big enough to do the research. It is sad that no one teachs their children about the bigger world and where these things really came from but rather teach them it is all about them. Like I said, we don't really celebrate these things but we treat Christmas like a time to get to know our real heritage, doing each thing to teach the meaning of them and help the children understand what and why things are celebrated. We teach the truth. Why is everyone so afraid of it? Why do so many people act like it doesn't exsist? Why do people act like it will harm children?
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A Child's imagination is a wonderful thing. I hate seeing people try to control it.
Trying to control it? I am confused because that is exactly what santa is all about, trying to control your child's imagination for as long as you can get away with it. Children wouldn't come up with santa all by themselves.
With a school aged child approaching the age where we get the Santa question, I'm wondering how others have handled it. I'd like to be prepared when it happens...hopefully we have another year or two before it does.
It was very cute and special when my sons were very young, however, they are now approaching Jr High age and I just figured they'd grow out of it by now. Its not as cute, as awkward anymore. So rather than letting them get teased or flat oiut telling them he isn't real... I told my son that Santa doesn't generally come as much when you hit your double digits and hardly at all once you hit your teens.
He seemed to accept that. And hopefully that's a gentle way to ween them off of it.
What happened to this lovely thread full of good ideas from people who have "been there, done that?" The question was how to break the news or confirm your kid's suspicions that Santa is, in fact, their parents.
I think our country has really started down a harmful path. Suddenly Democrats can't be friends with Republicans. Christians can't be friends with Atheists. Santa represents slavery. WHAAAAAAT!?!?!?!
How about we all take a big breath and realize that at the end of the day, it's what YOU want to do as a tradition in your family that defines Christmas. America is a melting pot. The number of people who associate Santa with slavery is miniscule (I admit, you are the very first person I've ever heard mention it). The number of people who are having to combine their traditions (my daughter's best friend's family is Muslim but they are learning to combine their religious traditions with Santa and the "Christmas" thing). That's as American as you can get.
If you are standing on a soapbox ranting about people who say "Happy Holidays" or declaring Santa as "evil" then I think we can all collectively say that you have missed the whole point and that we feel very sad for you.
Christmas is a hodge-podge of different faiths and traditions that over the years have melted into a gigantic commercial enterprise. As parents, it's our responsibility to try and steer our kids in the direction of making the holiday one about giving and family. I always feel bad for the kids who are mentally counting how many gifts they got or the parents who put themselves in huge amounts of debt. It's hard to have a "Normal Rockwell" Christmas but I can only say from experience, that it's not the gifts that your kids will remember. I remember my family's traditions, decorations, tv programs and the menu we have year after year on Christmas Eve.
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) that when Disney came out with Pocohanas, he refused to let his daughters watch it.
