I grew up with believing in Santa. I believed until 5th grade. This may be longer than the average person and probably had a lot to do with back then it was more popular or common to incorporate Santa in the Christmas holiday. I remember sitting in my 5th grade class and the teacher brought up the topic of Santa. Some kids said he wasn’t real and some said he was. The teacher quickly cleared that up and confirmed he wasn’t real. I cried right there in my class. I don’t know why I cried. Maybe because something I believed in for 10 years turned out to not exist. I know I was heartbroken.
Fast forward to being saved by Christ almost 8 years ago now. Mateo was almost 2. Up until then I celebrated Christmas with him like I did when I was a child. We did presents from Santa. We went and took our picture on Santa’s lap. But something was different that following Christmas after I got saved. I felt a personal conviction about doing the “Santa” thing. David and I got engaged and had discussions about this, and thankfully we were on the same page. We didn’t want to lie to Mateo about Santa. As a Christian it is much more important for him to learn about Christ and know why we really celebrate Christmas. I would hate to lie to him about Santa, tell him about Christ and then when he discovers Santa isn’t real, not believe that anything he learned about Christ wasn’t real.
Mateo took the Santa talk real well. Some may think that we robbed him of some sort of magic. We didn’t. He can enjoy Santa around the holidays, but he knows that he’s not real. We told him the story of Saint Nicholas and he has enjoyed learning that. But even more important he has enjoyed learning the story of the birth of baby Jesus, which is something that he will carry with him for eternity.
Our traditions for Christmas now have nothing to do with how David and I grew up. When we got married we started fresh. All new traditions. We don’t do the advent calendars but instead do RAK’s (Random Acts of Kindness). We fill a bag with gifts that all have a RAK card attached that explain what this blessing is. The bag contains mostly small items like candles, candy canes, coffee mugs, and single packs of M&M’s. We randomly pass them out in the month of December to anyone we come in contact with. Sometimes this is the person checking my ID to the front gate, sometimes a server in a restaurant, a cashier at the store, or someone passing us on the sidewalk downtown. This brings the entire family out of their comfort zone but they get so excited after blessing someone with such a small gift. Christmas morning we eat homemade cinnamon rolls. We bake a cake for Jesus, and sing Happy Birthday. The kids make lists for us with what kind of gifts they want. They get stockings, stocking stuffers, and candy. Then they get three gifts, because Jesus got three gifts when he was born.
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men[a] from the east came to Jerusalem,2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose[b]and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Friends and family, these are our traditions. I share them because I read a recent post on Facebook asking friends about Santa and how long everyone’s kids believed. I scrolled through the comments and one read “my kid would have believed longer but some kids at school ruined it for them, and those are the same kids that tell them about other “stuff” too.” So it made me think about how that parent is mad that a child is telling their child/children the truth about something. We teach our kids to do what’s right when we are with them and when we are not with them. We teach our children that lieing and stealing are both bad. But then some of us teach our children the truth that Santa isn’t real and a parent is getting mad for a child telling the truth. That is both crazy and ridiculous. My kids don’t run around shouting from the rooftops that Santa isn’t real, but if someone asks them about what they believe or wants to debate the realism of Santa, be ware they will tell that child the truth about Santa, Saint Nicholas, and Jesus. Shame on you for being mad at my child for telling the truth. Those parents would love my child in a different situation. Say your child wants to steal a candy bar and my child tells them it’s wrong. Are you then thankful he told the truth that it was wrong or would you have been happier if he encouraged the theft?
I pray that you have a very Merry Christmas and think about your traditions and the traditions you are setting for your children. Don’t fear change. Please share some of your family traditions in the comments I would love to hear some of them.
