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Is Santa silly?

Arran

I'm writing this as someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas in either a religious or cultural sense. From a young age I was told that Santa doesn't exist and is just a silly hoax that parents play on their kids. It never affected me in any bad way and neither was I expecting to find wrapped presents mysteriously appear on the morning of the 25th day of December. If anybody in my family received a Christmas gift then it was usually opened on the same day. A downside to this is that even from the age of 4 or 5 I went round telling kids at school "Father Christmas isn't real, it's all made up, your parents buy Christmas presents from the shops" which often resulted in me getting into trouble whenever they got upset. I once had to report to the head teacher after completely reducing a classmate to tears.

Is the concept of Santa a silly nonsense or is it part of the joys of childhood? Do you tell your own children the truth or would you prefer to go along with the cultural norm? Is pleasing one's classmates more important than knowing the truth? What about children at school who follow different religions so do not celebrate Christmas - where do they fit in?

Parents

  • IntenseWorld said:
    So when other religions celebrate mythical events or characters we should take the same stance you have taken?

    This is not the time or the place for the discussion of deep theological issues but I can see a big difference between religious beliefs from centuries ago (even if they are scientifically proven to be untrue) and innovations from more recent times that are outright lies. Christmas, and the Santa lie associated with it, is pervasive in Britain and is followed by millions of people who are atheist or only weakly Christian. It is effectively part of British popular culture rather than religion. Therefore it could be argued that anybody who chooses to state the true facts is verging on heresy or is unBritish.

    If people who follow a religion other than Christianity try to thrust their beliefs or practices on the masses then it results in ill feelings with the potential for outrage. This has happened recently with Muslims under the banner of "Islamisation of Britain" such as when schools decide to close down for Eid-ul-Fitra or hold assembly plays based on Islamic stories and events. If a Muslim teacher told the story of the Islamic birth of Jesus as described in the Qu'ran shortly before Christmas in a primary school dominated by white British and (mostly notional) Christian children then their parents will be incensed by such behaviour. Even atheist parents are likely to consider it creeping sharia via the back door rather than religious nonsense.

    Well that one was long since blown out of the water.  Tony Attwood for one, talks about some children with Asperger's living in an extreme fantasy world.

    I have been accused many times of having a mind corrupted by mythology, fantasy, and conspiracy theories by those of a more rational mindset. One particularly notable example was an obsession I had with the Mysterious Cities of Gold when in primary school. Mythology and fantasy is one thing but lies are another.

Reply

  • IntenseWorld said:
    So when other religions celebrate mythical events or characters we should take the same stance you have taken?

    This is not the time or the place for the discussion of deep theological issues but I can see a big difference between religious beliefs from centuries ago (even if they are scientifically proven to be untrue) and innovations from more recent times that are outright lies. Christmas, and the Santa lie associated with it, is pervasive in Britain and is followed by millions of people who are atheist or only weakly Christian. It is effectively part of British popular culture rather than religion. Therefore it could be argued that anybody who chooses to state the true facts is verging on heresy or is unBritish.

    If people who follow a religion other than Christianity try to thrust their beliefs or practices on the masses then it results in ill feelings with the potential for outrage. This has happened recently with Muslims under the banner of "Islamisation of Britain" such as when schools decide to close down for Eid-ul-Fitra or hold assembly plays based on Islamic stories and events. If a Muslim teacher told the story of the Islamic birth of Jesus as described in the Qu'ran shortly before Christmas in a primary school dominated by white British and (mostly notional) Christian children then their parents will be incensed by such behaviour. Even atheist parents are likely to consider it creeping sharia via the back door rather than religious nonsense.

    Well that one was long since blown out of the water.  Tony Attwood for one, talks about some children with Asperger's living in an extreme fantasy world.

    I have been accused many times of having a mind corrupted by mythology, fantasy, and conspiracy theories by those of a more rational mindset. One particularly notable example was an obsession I had with the Mysterious Cities of Gold when in primary school. Mythology and fantasy is one thing but lies are another.

Children
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