I am very grateful that, as parents, we are given the choice for so many things. We choose what we believe is best for our children everyday. We make big decisions from the day we learned that we were pregnant with them. We decide if we are going to vaccinate them. We decide if we are going to circumcise our sons. We decide if we are going to spank or homeschool them. When they are older, we decide if we are going to give our teenage daughters birth control, or leave condoms out for our son to use if we know they are sleeping around. These are BIG decisions that every parents must make. I mean BIG. These decisions have lasting effects on our kids in some way or the other; whether they are positive or negative, they do affect our children. And then the Christmas season rolls around, and if you have very young kids, you are going to decide whether you are going to let your kids believe in Santa, “tell them the lie” as so many call it, or tell them the truth. I don’t think this is a BIG decision, but I guess after mentioning something on my Facebook page, many do think it is. So, to each their own. However, I do and will continue letting my kids believe in the fairy tale of Santa.
5 Reasons Why I Let My Kids Believe in Santa Claus
1) Because the story of St. Nicholas is a true story. Saint Nicholas (15 March 270 – 6 December 343) also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra. He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for Santa Claus (1).
There are many legends about St. Nicholas of Myra. One story tells how he helped three poor sisters. Their father did not have enough money to pay their dowries and thought of selling them into servitude. Three times, St. Nicholas secretly went to their house at night and put a bag of money inside. The man used the money so that one of his daughters could marry. On the third visit, the man saw St. Nicholas and thanked him for his kindness. He also reportedly saved three men who were falsely imprisoned and sentenced to death (2).
2) Because I believe fantasy is so important to growing children. I am an avid believer in the Charlotte Mason schooling method. It’s the method I use with my kids because it is about giving kids a firm foundation of “living books“. Living books are books that come alive to children. Think of your favorite childhood book…it most likely was a living book; one that evoked fantasy and the desire for the story to never end. Fantasy stimulates the imagination, creativity and wonder, and we need more, not less of it. And I’m not lying to my kids, I’m letting them have a little imagination with something that is rooted in history.
3) Because I believe in the spirit of giving and not taking credit for something makes me even more humble. Santa gives the kids one or two gifts a year…big gifts! I make sure that the kids know that mommy and daddy give certain gifts though. My kids are only young once and when they grow up there will be no more fantasy. Life will be so serious. They will cry over every boyfriend that breaks their heart and every basketball game they lose. Then they will be gone and have their own families and will decide if they will tell their kids the truth about Santa Claus. And, in that moment, I hope when they think back on all the Christmases that they spent with us growing up…I hope they smile. I hope they remember the love we shared together…the anticipation of Christ…the anticipation of Santa.
4) Because the life of Santa Claus does NOT take away from the life of Christ. Santa is not the highlight of Christmas in our house. We recognize Advent and, everyday, we talk about the life of Jesus leading up to His glorious birth. Christmas day we have a birthday party for Jesus with cake and songs and dancing. Jesus is the icing on the cake.
5) Because I believed in Santa growing up and it was awesome. And when my dad told me that HE WAS SANTA I thought that was the coolest thing ever. It never broke me or made me think less of my parents for “telling me such a lie”. It made me appreciate the selflessness that went into Christmas in my house growing up. We were a lower income family when I was a child and my dad worked his butt off to make Christmas magical. And the fact that they didn’t take credit for all the amazing gifts they gave us??? Made me love them even more.
So, what do you do? Do you let your kids believe in Santa or not?
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Sources:
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Nicholas
(2) https://www.biography.com/people/st-nicholas-204635
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