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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

  • Also I think people just need to connect with something.....

    However "logical" you want to be - basically we are up against some tricky imponderables. we're stuck on a rock in the vastness of space - and bar science fiction - no prospect of connecting with anyone on any other pieces of rock out there. And my mind cannot get round no beginning or end of time, no end to space. Nor why I'm here...although I think it was to be a nuisance to everything from NAS to myriad pointless politicians.

    So most people try to connect with something, which usually manifests as religion. One of the things people tried to make sense of was winter, in the cold and the dark, the rebirth of the trees and birth of lambs etc in Spring, and the sense of loss in autumn.

    Whether you do this through an established religion like Christianity, with the birth of Jesus or revert to pagan models about rebirth of the year at the lengthening of days, just noting the event and celebrating it each time it happens is really important. It gives people an opportunity to feel glad and to share their gladness and relief with others.

    OK for people alone, and for people on the spectrum who find the social response difficult, Christmas is hard, and tends to point out the isolation and the vulnerability. And its a terrible time of year to be stuck for cash, or have nowhere warm and secure to live.

    I'm not really worried whether you believe in santa or not, or whether it matters what stories we tell our kids, I just feel it is ever so important to have some kind of celebration at this time, whether it is Christmas or New Year. 

    And by the way, up until the 70s most Scots celebrated New Year rather than Christmas, and the English tended to underplay New Year, even going to work on New year's Day. Its just now we all celebrate both - which is a tad greedy

    If you feel happier going to a Star Trek Convention in late December in order to meet someone pretending to be Mr Data, if that floats your boat (meaningful metaphor that one) - go with it.

    But please leave people who want to believe in santa to go on doing it, cos it matters to them,....and it clearly matters to their children.....

    Not that that'll be an end to this discussion ....oh no....by Christmas we'll have passed a thousand messages, not the mere 120 or so we have now!

Reply

  • Also I think people just need to connect with something.....

    However "logical" you want to be - basically we are up against some tricky imponderables. we're stuck on a rock in the vastness of space - and bar science fiction - no prospect of connecting with anyone on any other pieces of rock out there. And my mind cannot get round no beginning or end of time, no end to space. Nor why I'm here...although I think it was to be a nuisance to everything from NAS to myriad pointless politicians.

    So most people try to connect with something, which usually manifests as religion. One of the things people tried to make sense of was winter, in the cold and the dark, the rebirth of the trees and birth of lambs etc in Spring, and the sense of loss in autumn.

    Whether you do this through an established religion like Christianity, with the birth of Jesus or revert to pagan models about rebirth of the year at the lengthening of days, just noting the event and celebrating it each time it happens is really important. It gives people an opportunity to feel glad and to share their gladness and relief with others.

    OK for people alone, and for people on the spectrum who find the social response difficult, Christmas is hard, and tends to point out the isolation and the vulnerability. And its a terrible time of year to be stuck for cash, or have nowhere warm and secure to live.

    I'm not really worried whether you believe in santa or not, or whether it matters what stories we tell our kids, I just feel it is ever so important to have some kind of celebration at this time, whether it is Christmas or New Year. 

    And by the way, up until the 70s most Scots celebrated New Year rather than Christmas, and the English tended to underplay New Year, even going to work on New year's Day. Its just now we all celebrate both - which is a tad greedy

    If you feel happier going to a Star Trek Convention in late December in order to meet someone pretending to be Mr Data, if that floats your boat (meaningful metaphor that one) - go with it.

    But please leave people who want to believe in santa to go on doing it, cos it matters to them,....and it clearly matters to their children.....

    Not that that'll be an end to this discussion ....oh no....by Christmas we'll have passed a thousand messages, not the mere 120 or so we have now!

Children
No Data