There was an interesting segment on The Early Show this morning (Saturday, December 3, 2011) highlighting a mom who blogs about how she makes it through the day in dealing with her 4-year old daughter. She talked about the "mis-truths" she tells her daughter in order to get the kind of behaviors she needs from her daughter. This jogged my memory about the lies we tell kids in our culture. Two in particular - Thanksgiving mythology and Christmas.
As you know, I am adopting a now 12-year old. Aaron is at the age where he was questioning the whole Santa Claus mythology. Before you stop reading thinking I am one of those "Anti-Santa Claus" people - I am not. In fact, I am very "pro-Santa", but in a specific way. I think we should take the "false mythologies" of the day and teach the truth behind them. By the way, Aaron had no idea that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus - not surprising in our culture. I wonder how many other children (and adults) have no idea about the true meaning of Christmas. Adult mythology is about being together with friends and family.
Anyway, I digress. When it comes to Santa, the contemporary Santa mythology finds is foundation in the true Saint Nicholas of Asia Minor who was known for his compassion and charity. ( http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/nick.html ) Saint Nicholas' actions were driven by his faith in Jesus Christ and he became known as the patron Saint of children. Are yous starting to see the connections?
Why is this so important? Well, if you "lie" about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Thanksgiving rather then finding the truth about these origins, your child may get to an age where he or she asks, "So if my parents lied about Santa, is what they told me about Jesus true too?"
What I am encouraging parents and caregivers to do is to find out the truth behind the legend. Once the truth is found out, compare to what the current mythology is. Reclaim the truth of the legend and share that with your child explaining how the legend came to be. If a child asks, "Does Santa really come down the chimney," don't be afraid to answer truthfully. (Kids are asking because they realize that not every home has a chimney.) Remind kids that according to legend of Saint Nicholas, some of the gifts he would deliver to families would be by dropping those gifts down the chimney. Once again, Saint Nicholas was driven in these acts of compassion by his love for Christ - something our culture has forgotten.
So, I believe there is a way to keep the spirit of Santa Claus as celebrated by our culture, have great memories for your children and use these opportunities to point your children to Christ. After all, isn't that what we are supposed to do as parents - tell the truth and point them to Jesus, the ultimate truth?
Merry Christmas!
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