Aloha Friday: The Santa Line
As the holiday season draws near, certain challenges arise. As I ranted talked about before in Tis The Season For Bah Humbug, we don’t celebrate Christmas. Instead, we celebrate Chanukah. This means that we don’t need to put up a Christmas tree, stuff any stockings or tell our kids that Santa is going to come and visit. However, that last item does pose a tricky dilemma. Obviously, we don’t have any personal need for our children to think that Santa Claus is real. However, if we tell them that he isn’t (especially 6 year old NHL), then that story will be repeated to other kids. Kids whose parents have said that Santa would be stopping by soon.
We don’t wish any ill will towards other families’ beliefs and practices so this one has, for now, been relatively easy to circumvent. We haven’t told them about Santa’s reality one way or another. The boys understand that Santa relates to Christmas and we don’t celebrate Christmas. However, I wonder what will happen as they get older. Will they begin to ask for a better reason why Santa won’t visit us or whether we’re on the naughty list for not celebrating Christmas? Perhaps NHL will want to know how Santa gets to every house in the world in one night. Perhaps he will have other, not so easy to answer questions. (If there’s one thing I’ve learned is that kids have a tendancy to find and ask questions that are difficult to answer.)
The more I think about the questions they might ask, the more I wonder where the line is. At what point does our wishes not to burst any bubbles clash with our wishes to raise our children to believe certain things. To expand this past Santa Claus, what happens if NHL tells a classmate in Hebrew school that men evolved from primate ancestors when that child has been taught that mankind was created by God somewhere around 10,000 years ago. That could understandably cause a sticky situation. To go past my own children, what if an athiest couple’s child tells mine that God doesn’t exist?
My Aloha Friday question is: How do you reconcile teaching your child what you would want them to believe while not offending others’ beliefs?
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the MckLinky there if you are participating.
Aloha #16
I don’t worry about what others believe.
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We put up a Christmas tree but we do not celebrate Santa. And my children are very young and don’t understand fully yet, but I will not tell my children that Santa is real and will stop by etc. They’ll know we work hard for our money and if God blesses us and we can do gifts for each other, then this is how it shall be.
I think your beliefs are what you choose and you should teach your children thus and not worry about what the other parents children will think or be affected.
We are all very different and it creates a sort of very interesting balance and so just be and do in what you believe.
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I think it is hard. JDaniel already has friends who parents don’t believe what my family does.
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very tough question……. really looking forward to more answers
We celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas. About Santa well I still believe he exist. So I will not tell my daughter anything different. He was a real man back in the ancient days about 280AD. His name was Nicholas, His gift given was not really associated with Christmas til many years later. Actually the Christmas day Santa started in early America. In many other countries he comes before Christmas. There is a great Historical fictional book ( meaning that they use history with fiction to write the book). I have it on my Book site,
“The autobiography of Santa Claus” Like many thing even with Chanukah we do not know if these thing really happened, but we celebrate the thought of it’s possibilities.
Have a Wonderful Chanukah and eat lots of Latkes:-)
.-= Auntie E´s last blog ..Aloha Friday -Celebrations =-.
We have the ‘celebrate everything’ dilemma in our house. My kids are pretty much grown and we’ve been okay celebrating everything but, not too much of anything.
As far as the rest of the world goes, it helps to put yourself in the other person’s shoes to consider how they feel and to learn to get along.
http://iamharriet.blogspot.com/2009/12/are-you-angry.html
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Raise your family in your beliefs and traditions. We taught our boys about the various other religions of the world at a young age and as a former school teacher, kids just never discussed it. My boys are teens strong in their faith and fully aware of the many other wonderful world religions and are extremely respectful and curious about them.
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I teach our children our beleifs but also would teach them to accept and respect other too!Most important to always show love!
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We celebrate Santa and Christmas. As far as your question. Teach your beliefs and when your children come home and ask the hard questions, sit them down and tell your beliefs. Explain that other religions and belief systems have their beliefs and they are not wrong just different. Other kids will believe what they believe and it is not their job to change/convert their minds. Just my thoughts on it.
.-= Buck Daddy Rogers´s last blog ..Because I Said So – Dad Edition – The Santa Clause =-.
As a teacher, I have seen how cruel kids can be. Some will come in and blast another child’s belief about the Tooth Fairy, Santa, and the Easter Bunny. I agree that our beliefs are important to make sure that NHL and JSL understand. After that I feel no need to discuss Santa more than he is something that most Christian children see/have for Christmas. The end. There is no need for us to say he does/does not exist. I do not want my child to be the one that spoils something magical for another kid at school
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Easy! I tell my kids what I want them to believe. I just explain that we aren’t like all families and every one has a different belief and it’s ok. It’s a big wide world out there and it’s just not possible to all think the same way. It doesn’t mean it’s wrong but you have to respect other beliefs too. It’s freedom of choice. 🙂
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