We've never done the whole Santa thing in our house.
Don't get me wrong...we don't have a personal vendetta against the guy.
We don't wonder at the spiritual maturity of those who hand their kids over to him at the mall for a photo op. We don't find spiritual significance in the fact that if you switch a few letters around in his name then you get "Satan". We do get a guilt-free kick out of silly Christmas movies (such as "Elf") which include the jolly old Northerner. So, as you can see, we're not on a campaign for Santa obliteration.
When the kids were little, we warned them not to ruin the concept of Santa for their friends who do have him as a part of their holiday celebration.
Could you Santa fans please ask your kids to return the favor?
This is the second year that Delaney has been harassed for not believing in him. I've been a witness...
Last year, she had a pal (we'll call her Amber) over to our house after Christmas. The girls were sitting at the kitchen table when Amber (with the utmost patience that a fourth grader could muster) asked:
"Delaney, do you believe in Santa now that Christmas is over?"
D: "Uh...no."
A: "Delaney, I got presents from him. The tags said so. He even gave my mom and dad some things."
D: silence
A: "My parents said he's real and they wouldn't lie."
D: "Uh, I don't really want to talk about it."
A: (The following statement was delivered with piety of the most religious caliber possible.) "Delaney, if you just try then you can believe in him. (sigh) I think you need to think about that."
Well, that was last year. I thought that surely by 5th grade, the faith-filled few would have dwindled down to nil. Oh, no...Santa's evangelists are at it again, trying to browbeat the disbelieving into the kingdom of the North Pole.
Yesterday, Delaney brought home a note from school that had passed between her and another girl.
Other Girl: "If you don't believe in Santa, then why do you draw pictures of him and his reindeer?"
D: "Because it's fun."
OG: "How could you Delaney? How could you not believe in Santa?"
I realize some people consider the idea of Santa as part of the whole magic of Christmas and that's fine, but personally, I think that peace on earth has a bit more sparkle.
2 comments:
never thought there'd be harassment for not believing in santa...such a cruel world out there. i didnt think there were kids in fifth grade who still believed in santa! hmm...
<3sweetwater
i love the whole "my parents wouldn't lie" line. that's why my parents didn't say santa was real...they didn't want to lie to us. it's a hard call to make...not sure what i'd do. but i do feel for delaney...so sorry to hear she's made to feel badly for not believing in something that doesn't exist. sigh.
Post a Comment