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And Another Thing About Christmas .......

Posted about 1 year ago
Actually 2 things.


1. My son Alex is 8 going on 15. We had a great discussion about Santa Claus. He asked a fairly straight forward question;"How does Santa get all of those presents to everybody in 1 night?"At first I was caught speechless (yes, even me without a pithy comeback). What do you say? Employing the Socratic method I hit him with;"Well, how do *you* think he does it?"And from there we talked about time travel and it's effects on everything. Really, a great conversation. Alex doesn't seem to be afraid of being wrong. And he is still a great optimist. It makes me sad to think that one day he won't believe. 2. How did you celebrate Christmas? We (all us Moggers) are very much a global community. Alex and I were also talking about people and all of the different ways to get together for Christmas. So, what did you do that is culturally significant?
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Comments (12)

  1. TroyPowers
    TroyPowers says Hey, that's the OLD mog player! How'd you do that? I miss it so! I hate these silly little red and yellow buttons. In other news, I'm really distraught about the whole Santa Clause thing. I just have a problem with telling my daughter that some fat white guy drops down the chimney every year to bring her gifts. So, up to this point, I've just avoided the whole Santa thing. But, this year, she learned about Santa in day care. So, she's on the whole Santa kick. And I don't know what to do. I don't wanna just tell her that there is no Santa. But, by not saying anything, I'm kinda condoning it. Good ol' Grandma has all the balls in the family. She just told her straight out, "There is no Santa!" But, it just kinda flew by. In the words of that great black poet, Huey Freeman..."Christmas is a pagan holiday, and Jesus probably hates you for celebrating it!" :)
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  2. ivylander
    ivylander says I think my 11-year-old still believes. Of course, he also still instinctively reaches for my hand when we're walking in a parking lot. I think he's trying to fend off growing up in any form. I'm kinda with Troy on this - we don't actively trash Santa, but we do try to make all the shit-under-the-tree stuff a minimal part of the holiday. This year we gave the kids an option of a token-gifts-and-save-the-money-for-a-family-trip-in-January Christmas. They jumped at it.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  3. deadmandeadman
    deadmandeadman says By the time a child 'learns the truth', on this and a host of other issues, they have usually gathered all the pieces of the 'truth' anyway and they seek confirmation/validation. It +can+ be very a very traumatic experience though, I remember the day I 'found out for sure', I cried and cried, I was crushed. My drill sergant just stood there laughing and laughing. So in the deadmandeadman crypt we always told them, when the inevitable first question arose, that Santa Clause was a Magical Mythical man of good spirit and goodwill. They understood magical, that lit their eyes so the mythical part snuck by. When they were older and they started questioning the "mythical" part, they had largely worked it out already. Its sorta the truth wrapped in cotton candy to cushion the blow. (for the parents). My granddaughter is eight and didn't believe in Santa Clause beyond the age of two or three. We were playing cribbage one night this summer and out of the clear blue she looked up at me and asked If I believed in god. I felt the cold wave of certain loam, the infinite cold nothing of forever. I looked into her eyes,my brain was squirmin' like that toad. So my answer was a paraphrase of Andy's letter to his disciple in the Shawshank Redemption. "hope is a good thing, perhaps the best thing......... You're a lucky man Chris, Its an awesome challenge raising free thinking entities in the cookie cutter world, and from this and previous posts it sounds as though you are enjoying it and are doing a great job. Hang on tight, the teen years are comin' at ya! LOL.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  4. darmuzz
    darmuzz says Such a good question. We decided not to use the concept of Santa at our house, and also introduce Santa as a mythical character. When asked who brought the presents, we said straight out, "Your parents, but it's fun to believe the stories about Santa Claus." We read books and sang songs about Santa, but when asked if he was real, said no. The daycare staff were upset that my daughter didn't "believe" at the age of 3, and she quickly understood that it was something she didn't discuss with other kids. Nowadays we have a quiet candle-lit evening for Solstice, a Unitarian church service (more often than not focusing on the return of light) and a big traditional Christmas celebration hosted by the grandparents.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  5. Groon
    Groon says I guess I'm in the minority here; in our house we promote the whole Santa Clause thing. I don't know what makes our outlook different than some of y'all's--I had a very good experience as a Santa believer as a child, but my wife's was rather traumatic, from what I understand (her brother woke her up one Xmas Eve to "see Santa," but was really bringing her down to spy on the parents setting presents out. She says she was crushed for months. She was like 5). I finally figured it out, don't know how old I was, but it didnt' bother me at all by that time. I must have been old enough to have sort of subconsciously figured it out already, because it didn't bother me at all, just sort of an "oh well." So, for whatever reason, here we do the whole Santa thing. We don't try to overdo it or let the materialism overshadow the rest of the season, but I think for me it's continuing the magic I used to feel by watching it in my kids' eyes, and for my wife it's giving them a chance to believe in magic that was crushed out for her at a too early age. That sounds like a load of bunk, but I think there's truth in there somewhere. As for traditions, you asked? Well, we've started an Xmas Eve tradition where the kids open one present. It's not really a spolier or anything because this one present is always a new pair of PJs. Then, we have some hot chocolate, set out cookies, and watch The Polar Express. I personally can't stand this movie, but my kids love it, so until they want to watch something else I guess I'm stuck with it. Then, of course, we stay up late enjoying the frickin' peace and quiet.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  6. annieander
    annieander says Because we are never home for Christmas, Santa usually brings the stocking presents. Everything else comes from us. Last year we were cleaning out my boy's room, and he wanted to give away something to goodwill. I said "I just got that for you, you haven't even played with it yet.". I was in fact a "Santa" gift, and he spotted my blunder right away. He asked me if there was really a Santa. I told him I would tell him, yes or no, but he had to be ready to want to hear the answer. Did he really want to know either way, because I would be honest with him, as I am with everything else he has asked so far. I let him stew on that for a while. He said he did want to know the answer. I confirmed that there was no Santa, but quickly followed that with awesome knowledge comes awesome responsibility. He could not go around "killing" Christmas for younger kids. He had to perpetuate the notion that Santa is real. He got that, I was proud. Fast forward to Easter...and it was time for the Easter Bunny. The light went on in his head...I could see it, and he asked "What about the Easter Bunny?". I said the same thing, I told him I would tell him, yes or no, but he had to be ready to want to hear the answer. He said he didn't want to know. Hah! There is still a little boy in there. And Ivy, he also instinctively reaches for my hand to in a parking lot. I give it a couple more months, maybe till he reaches age 12, then I will miss that too.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  7. Misstee
    Misstee says I don't have children so I don't have the Santa issues but when I was growing up, I remember my grandmother telling me that during this season if you give and receive, YOU are Santa - so everyone is Santa...I always liked that idea.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  8. Hello Mimi
    Hello Mimi says As I don't have kids, I don't have to deal with the Santa question yet. (Although I'm pretty sure the dog and the cat know.) The one tradition I started for myself, many, many years ago is that I always read Clarabell The Christmas Cow on Christmas Day. It's a story that appears in the local paper every December, written by a former editor years ago. Yes, I know how ridiculously Southern the story sounds and I can't even blame my parents for inflicting it upon me. I saw it in the paper one year and read it and loved it. The latest tradition I've tried to start with my family is going to see a Christmas variety show called "Pre-sent/Pres-ent". It's the product of a local theatre troupe, Voices of the South, and a local dance troupe, Project: Motion, so it's got a little bit of everything: dance, comedy, drama, music, cross-dressing evangelicals - everything you'd expect from a Christmas show. A lot of the pieces are very personal and it just gets me in the right mood to appreciate the holiday.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  9. Wade
    Wade says My response to my very inquisitive six year old is the same as my dad's was to me, one that always left me scratching my head: "Santa Claus is the spirit of Christmas", and repeat this over and over. I like it is because it is technically true but does not destroy the fantasy directly. As the questions get more detailed it gets harder and harder. This year, she found a scrap of the "Santa" wrapping paper in our closet and noticed it immediately, and asked how could Santa's wrapping paper get into our closet????
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  10. Anna
    Anna says The tree. The candy. The family lunch. The horror!
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  11. Bartleby
    Bartleby says I tried my best to eschew all celebrations and gluttony to no avail - Family duty always prevails it seems. - I've never had any inclination for the Father Christmas either even as a child.
    Permalink posted 12/29/2007
  12. zarpex
    zarpex says When my daughter was seven, she asked me how Santa got about delivering presents to so many children who didn't live in houses with working chimneys. Part of me was horrified, because I had a photo of her sitting in a department store Santa's lap with an expression of utter belief, which I treasured like my own heart. Part of me was ecstatic to think that she'd sat in the lap of her own logic and found Santa questionable. As it should, the ecstatic side won, and I explained to her how it is that human beings look for rewards for good behavior where none exist beyond ourselves. She accepted it with a calm dedication to truth that I will cherish more deeply than any I will likely encounter again. Clearly you understand this.
    Permalink posted 12/31/2007

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