The Trouble With Santa

I have written before:

Santa Claus is treated as a character in a children’s book. He doesn’t visit our home. He doesn’t make a list. We do not sprinkle the snow with magic reindeer feed or leave cookies and milk out. Our children know that everything they have is a gift from God.

I wrote that before David and Beverly actually lived in our home.

There is one Santa that has meaning to me, but it is because it reminds me of  my father. I believe Santa Claus commercializes and trivializes Christmas. I didn’t want to invite him back into my home. But, where I live and worship, the dominant culture is awash with Santa Claus. Our friends and family will ask the kids what Santa is bringing them for Christmas. And, our children’s friends all believe that the gifts they get on Christmas morning come from an eternal, benevolent large elf that resides at the North Pole. Last year the kids hadn’t been in the United States long enough to know about America’s version of Santa. Things are different now. David and Beverly are absorbing the culture.

I struggled with what to do about Santa Claus. What I decided to do was to tell the children the legend of the historical St. Nicholas and put out shoes on St. Nicholas Day. I tried to emphasize that St. Nicholas gave gifts to people in need. Because God loved these people, St. Nicholas loved them in tangible ways too. I taught them that a gift from St. Nicholas was one given anonymously. And, I told them that, in the United States, it has become a custom to give gifts to people we know and love at this time of year too. Because, truthfully, my little one will be showered! Oh, and I warned them to let their friend’s parents decide how to explain Santa to them.

So, I guess, do we do Santa Claus? Yes, and no, and yes…

But, from David and Beverly’s perspective, we don’t. We were at the mall recently and stopped to have a sandwich and drink at a small restaurant. The waitress asked Beverly, “What is Santa going to bring you for Christmas?”

Beverly: “Uh, we don’t do Santa Claus,” Beverly said cautiously. I knew she was remembering my warning about not to tell her friends. She was hoping she could talk about Santa with an adult.

The waitress was confused by her answer. She sputtered, “Well, Santa is real. He is coming to the mall. You can sit on his lap and tell him what you want.”

David, kind of scowls and contemplates what has just been said. Then responds, “Santa Claus just means give a gift and not be found out.”

Later, we were shopping for gifts for the two children we had selected from the Angel Tree. David and Beverly were getting to love on someone in a tangible way just because God loves those children. Because my kids talk to everyone, Beverly excitedly told an older man in the toy area that she was buying a gift and not being found out. David loudly reprimanded her, “We aren’t supposed to tell about Santa!” And, he slugged her arm.

It seems that living off the culture grid is harder, much harder, when you have children. Sigh!