Christmas

Merry Christmas. I love the meaning of Christmas. I love that it is supposed to be a holiday centered around our Saviour. I love the beautiful theme of the season, that a loving Heavenly Father sent his Son here to earth to save us all. I love that about Christmas. That it is supposed to be a time of reflection and gratitude for purpose of our lives. I love how universal a holiday it is. There are many many religions that believe in the same Jesus Christ that I do, and it is nice to have some common ground with them.

With that said, I will now begin my purge. I hate Santa. I like the whole idea of the spirit of giving and the wonderful surprises that come during the holidays, but I hate Santa. I hate the commercialization of him. I hate what the big red suit has come to symbolize and I am having a hard time coming to some sort of peaceful agreement to stay nice during this season. Today I have to tell my seven year old daughter that he is not real. Why? Because the teachers at school think it is cute to perpetuate the lie. They don't take an inactive stance in anything these days. They play up Santa. They use him to coerce children to behave. It's wrong! I don't talk about Santa much, because I don't want them to put so much weight into him. But I have overheard my daughter say more than once "Be good! Santa's watching!" Umm...that's not something I have ever said. Not once.

The other day we were discussing what everyone wanted for Christmas. I asked my daughter and she says "I want an iPod and a three story Barbie house, with furniture." Now, she knows things have been kind of tight around here lately, and has been okay with that. So I tell her "These things cost money, dear, I don't think that you will be getting that." And her response? A Lovely, well thought out, not based on any logic response. "But MOM!" Insert eye roll here. "SANTA is bringing it!" Like DUH! It's not going to cost you anything! That fat guy takes care of it. It was at that moment that I knew that somehow, I was going to have to bring myself to let her in on the secret of Christmas. Later today I am taking her shopping, and she is going to help me pick out stocking goodies. I hope she can connect two and two. I may have to spell it out to her by the time we are done, but at least her heart won't be broken Christmas morning.