A casual remark to a friend that the little one is looking forward to receiving presents from Santa this Christmas earned me THE LOOK. Of course, THE LOOK is often nuanced and heavy in subtext, which in summary would say something like "You're teaching her about Santa?? you're a christian!!" I guess this is where hubby and I differ from half the christian population, and on purpose. On purpose because we actually had a deep discussion before we decided that she should be acquainted with Santa, flying reindeer, the tooth fairy, the unicorn, brownies, pixies and other such creatures. As a christian, it is easy to get caught up in the legalities of what you should teach one's child and what you shouldn't. In fact, as a young adult, I even wrote and directed a musical about the true meaning of Christmas where poor Santa got ostracised after the world understood what christmas meant. In fact, I was so righteous about it I got upset that shopping centres depicted Santas and other seemingly unrelated creatures. As I grew older, I've become less legalistic, more measured and I've learnt to see the positive in Santas. As I teach Maeve about baby Jesus and how God loves us so much He sent us His Son, I also allow her to be excited about getting presents from Santa. The St Nicholas story, is also an important one and depending on how one pitches it to their child, can be a wonderful lesson in love and giving.
The magical stories of Santa for me, fall in the category of fairy tales of wonder and adventure that the little one should know about. Without being able to imagine Santa in North Pole, the tooth fairy exchanging good quality baby teeth for tokens, magical fairies hiding in gardens, riding on a magic carpet, being a genie that can grant wishes, what would childhood be like? For us, there is no need to introduce too many realist concepts at this age, the world and gradual age will do it. Eventually, she'll be a appropriately cynical pre-teen and this world will disappear naturally.
I guess I believe sincerely that the ability to dream, to make-believe, to wonder, is the gift of childhood (that hopefully won't be killed by pragmatism). I remember wishing really hard when i was young (and even for a while believing) that I could climb up the magic far-away tree (enid Blyton)and do all the wonderful things like eat sweets that grow in your mouth.Sis and I will make a pact to meet each other "up the tree" and for a golden age, we did.
So while she thoughtfully chooses a gift to give baby Jesus for His birthday, she'll also get a gift under the tree from Santa on Christmas day. But first, she must remember to put out the milk and cookies for him!
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