**Disclaimer: This post is not for young children.**
“Santa Claus is the mythical figure who delivers toys to children around the world each year on Christmas Eve.”
“Santa Claus is the mythical figure who delivers toys to children around the world each year on Christmas Eve.”
That is the dictionary definition of Santa Claus as told to me by my 8 year old.
Last year, T.J. made it an all-out mission to prove to me that Santa Claus was a fake. He tried to catch me wrapping presents, he tried to find the presents, he tried to mark the cookies left out for Santa Claus; you name it, he thought of it. And all I would tell him was “when you stop believing, Santa Claus stops coming.”
Skip forward to this year. Paul bought T.J. a motor bike this fall. Since it was a rather pricey purchase, I informed both of them that this would indeed, be part of an early Christmas gift. T.J’s reply? That’s OK, Santa will bring me more. *insert stunned face here* I very smoothly replied, “well that might be true, if one actually believed in Santa Claus, but based on your accusations last year, I think it’s safe to assume that is not the case.” See, the old gift list has gotten trimmed WAY back this year. When your children have trouble thinking of 10 things to put on their list, it sort of makes you realize that maybe…they just don’t need anything else.
So here is a warning to all of you parents: beware of the Polar Express. In the beginning of the movie, the little boy looks up the definition of Santa Claus. And that, my dear friends, is where T.J. got the idea to pull out the dictionary at school and look it up for himself.
So there I stand, in the kitchen, with T.J. between Hope and I, looking at me to gauge my expression and try to decide how I am going to respond to his big revelation. I look down at my little boy (who isn’t so little any more) and reply, “yes, Santa Claus is a myth.” I’m not sure how he felt about my answer, as he didn’t appear surprised or disappointed. But then I explained this to him: “ The thing is, T.J., while Santa Claus may be a myth, St. Nicholas was not. St. Nicholas was a real man, a Bishop, who gave gifts in secret. Since people didn’t know how he gave gifts secretly like he did, they began to make up their own stories, until St. Nicholas evolved into the Santa Claus that we know today. But you can’t say Santa Claus never was real, because he was. He just doesn’t exist today in the way you have heard him described as.”
I also explained to him how St. Nicholas’s spirit lives on. How today, parents and others give gifts to friends and families in honor of St. Nick. And to celebrate the most wonderful gift we have ever been given, the baby Jesus. T.J. seemed to like the explanation, and in fact, I think he preferred hearing the true story vs. the mythical stories of magic he had been told. Of course, this confession of mine came with a stern warning that he was never to tell another child that there was no Santa Claus. He promised me he would not.
The timing of this actually worked out rather well, in that we are currently reading The Autobiography of Santa Claus which begins with the historical account of Bishop Nicholas and how he grew into the character we today know as Santa Claus. The book mixes both fiction and history and is very entertaining. There are 24 chapters, and for the past 2 years, we have read one chapter a night until Christmas, every evening, gathering together on the couch with our hot chocolate and blankets, snuggling up and listening to the night’s chapter. I highly recommend this book for children 3rd grade and up.
And so it is…I have one child left for which to play Santa. And I am going to enjoy every second of it! Of course, I now have two elves to help. :D I’m looking forward to a very relaxing Christmas, focused on the true spirit of the Season, and enjoying all that goes with it this year.
Last year, T.J. made it an all-out mission to prove to me that Santa Claus was a fake. He tried to catch me wrapping presents, he tried to find the presents, he tried to mark the cookies left out for Santa Claus; you name it, he thought of it. And all I would tell him was “when you stop believing, Santa Claus stops coming.”
Skip forward to this year. Paul bought T.J. a motor bike this fall. Since it was a rather pricey purchase, I informed both of them that this would indeed, be part of an early Christmas gift. T.J’s reply? That’s OK, Santa will bring me more. *insert stunned face here* I very smoothly replied, “well that might be true, if one actually believed in Santa Claus, but based on your accusations last year, I think it’s safe to assume that is not the case.” See, the old gift list has gotten trimmed WAY back this year. When your children have trouble thinking of 10 things to put on their list, it sort of makes you realize that maybe…they just don’t need anything else.
So here is a warning to all of you parents: beware of the Polar Express. In the beginning of the movie, the little boy looks up the definition of Santa Claus. And that, my dear friends, is where T.J. got the idea to pull out the dictionary at school and look it up for himself.
So there I stand, in the kitchen, with T.J. between Hope and I, looking at me to gauge my expression and try to decide how I am going to respond to his big revelation. I look down at my little boy (who isn’t so little any more) and reply, “yes, Santa Claus is a myth.” I’m not sure how he felt about my answer, as he didn’t appear surprised or disappointed. But then I explained this to him: “ The thing is, T.J., while Santa Claus may be a myth, St. Nicholas was not. St. Nicholas was a real man, a Bishop, who gave gifts in secret. Since people didn’t know how he gave gifts secretly like he did, they began to make up their own stories, until St. Nicholas evolved into the Santa Claus that we know today. But you can’t say Santa Claus never was real, because he was. He just doesn’t exist today in the way you have heard him described as.”
I also explained to him how St. Nicholas’s spirit lives on. How today, parents and others give gifts to friends and families in honor of St. Nick. And to celebrate the most wonderful gift we have ever been given, the baby Jesus. T.J. seemed to like the explanation, and in fact, I think he preferred hearing the true story vs. the mythical stories of magic he had been told. Of course, this confession of mine came with a stern warning that he was never to tell another child that there was no Santa Claus. He promised me he would not.
The timing of this actually worked out rather well, in that we are currently reading The Autobiography of Santa Claus which begins with the historical account of Bishop Nicholas and how he grew into the character we today know as Santa Claus. The book mixes both fiction and history and is very entertaining. There are 24 chapters, and for the past 2 years, we have read one chapter a night until Christmas, every evening, gathering together on the couch with our hot chocolate and blankets, snuggling up and listening to the night’s chapter. I highly recommend this book for children 3rd grade and up.
And so it is…I have one child left for which to play Santa. And I am going to enjoy every second of it! Of course, I now have two elves to help. :D I’m looking forward to a very relaxing Christmas, focused on the true spirit of the Season, and enjoying all that goes with it this year.
2 comments:
you nailed it on the head with if they cannot list ten things they really don't need much. We went thru this this year too, and so I have decided that they can choose two toys each that another family could/would enjoy and each of them will be donating two presents to our local benevolent society that donates toys to needy families. :) Great link to that book, I may need it next year. Grace turns 8 in Feb.
Miss you on pw2....but my 5 yo's bus driver looks just like you and so I feel like I 'see' you everyday! :)
and I should have said this is linda ... aka...lac023/lindalouhas4bubs!! :)
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