My wife and I believe this is the last Christmas that the kids are going to believe in Santa because of the conversations we've been having.
I know many folks don't believe in teaching their kids about Santa, and I have debated this with a friend a few times. However our household has taken measures this year, to make sure that their first Christmas away from home is a special one, and thus, it's not the year for them to stop believing.
Which is why the debates they've been having have been so encouraging and fun. They are really trying to apply reason to this issue that is of the utmost importance to a young child.
Here is a caption of the debates:
Which brings me to the debates on Santa Claus.
We've had ongoing debates over the past few days, and I'll try to summarize them here.
C-"How is santa claus going to fit down our chimney, it's small?"
s-"he's got magic, besides he can come in the front door."
C- "well that settles that question, but it doesn't settle what color Santa claus is."
s - "in PNG, he's black."
C - "no he's white"
s - "he's black"
C - "he's got to be white, I've seen him before in the stores."
s - "that wasn't the real santa claus, the real santa claus is black"
Chad - "what color was Jesus?"
S and C - "white"
Chad - "why do you think that? where was he from?"
C - "Jerusalem"
S - "no nazareth!"
Chad - "and what color were people from there?"
S and c - "we don't know"
Chad - "they why do you think Jesus was white?"
pause...
C - "but Santa is from the north pole."
Chad - "what color are Santa's elves"
s and c - "white"
Chad - "are elves big or small?"
s and c "small"
Chad - "what else is small?"
C - "a mouse."
Chad - "and what color are mice?"
S - "brown"
Chad -"so if elves are small, why aren't they brown?"
at this the kids paused and the debate ended until a new day
S - "I don't know what to think about Santa Claus, I mean, a lot of my friends don't believe in him."
C - "he's real, I know it."
s - "yeah I know it too, because every christmas eve, I hear reindoor footsteps on the roof, but everyone else says he's not real"
C - "he's real alright."
s - "yeah I know he's got to be real."
C - "okay so that settles that he's real, but it doesn't settle what color he is."
Chad - "we've never seen santa so how could we know?"
s - "you could setup a video camera for when he comes?"
Kendal " don't you think santa would know if you did that? After all he knows if you've been good or bad."
C - "dad, I don't think you should put up a video camera, Santa will know and you won't get any presents"
S - "I know you can wrap up the camera and put it in a present under the tree"
C - "but then it would only take a picture of black."
Chad - "does that mean santa is black?"
s and c - "no, silly!!"
C - "I don't think we should talk about this any more, Santa will know and then none of us will get any presents."
and that ended the conversation... at least for now.
the next debate.... why today (sunday) is called "Christmas Adam"
C - "it's christmas adam because Adam came before eve"
chad - "who came before Adam?"
S - "GOD!"
Chad - "then why didn't we call yesterday Christmas GOD?"
they laugh
Chad - "and who came before God?"
both - "nobody!!!"
Chad "oh."
Chad -"so who came AFTER eve?"
C - "Moses"
S - "no silly, Father Abraham"
Chad - "no, their kids, two of which were named Cain and Abel. So why don't we call the day after Christmas, Christmas CANE?"
S - "well, we do have a candy cane."
C - "And jesus came after Eve, so Christmas is called Christmas Jesus!"
Chad - "you guys do know that Christmas eve isn't named after Eve from the bible right?"
C - "yes silly, it's a joke, we're making jokes."
That was a load off my mind.
one of the traditions we have in our house is to weekly light a candle in preparation for Christmas, and read some scripture verses around the table, celebrating Advent. It's a Scriptural preparation for Christ's birth, and what we're truly celebrating.
It is a pleasant thing to see when your children spend more time talking about Christ and His birth than they talk about their gifts and what they might be getting. Each year, neither of them can come up with a list of gifts they want.
It is part of the magic and the innocence of Christmas, that our kids still get. It has a lot less to do with what they might be getting. They write no letters to Santa, they make no lists, they do however, spend time reading their Bibles and wrapping gifts for others.
It brings me a lot of joy to watch Christmas through their eyes. This year, it'll be different, but it should be very memorable.
Thank you all for your contribution to it!
