What would you think of a mother who, after finding her little girl playing with her dolls and pretending they were real, would snatch them out of her child's arms and tell her to not ever do that again. "These dolls are not REAL, they are just plastic and rubber! They can't HEAR you when you sing lullabies to them, and it's impossible to rock them to sleep! Stop being foolish and grow up, face reality! It's a waste of time to use our imagination in such silly in-mature ways! What would you think of a father who, upon finding his son racing his hot wheels in the dirt, making racing engine and gear shifting noises, suddenly kicked the "track" over and told him to "stop foolin around! Those cars aren't REAL! You're just a stupid kid wastin a lotta time, who do ya think ya are, Dale Earnhardt Jr?! Hahahaha!" - Sounds very cruel to ME, how about you?
A child's world is full of imagination, fantasy, and wonder- it's part of the beauty and innocence of BEING A CHILD in the first place, aaaand....it's the way God created each of us. I don't believe I have ever heard of a case where an adult had to have therapy because they discovered that Barbie and G.I. Joe weren't real people! I've also never heard anybody claim that allowing their children to play dolls, house, school, CHURCH, army men, race car driver, superhero, etc etc... was lying to them and doing them some terrible injustice! As long as, when the time is right, parents start training and teaching their children about becoming young ladies and gentlemen, and then on to teaching them about becoming an adult and the responsibilities that go with that- introducing them to the "real world"
So, how are any of the children's imaginative, pretend, fantasy beliefs of Christmas any different?! They're NOT, hello??? There is not one bit of difference in a child believing that her dollies can be rocked to sleep by her, and her believing that a kindly old gentleman who has taken note of how well she's behaved all year has magically visited her house while she was asleep and left her a brightly wrapped package for Christmas morning. There's no difference in a little boy believing that a snowman can come to life and dance and sing, and him believing that he really DOES have a secret cave underground where he transforms into a hero with super powers and saves good citizens from evil villians (and drives a super cool black car that shoots flames from the tail pipe!)
I stopped "believing in Santa" years ago, like most children do. Either some bratty kid at school breaks the news, or an annoyed older sibling...I am so thankful that I didn't have the misfortune of growing up around some over-zealous religious nutcase who attempted to convince my mother she should break my heart by jerking me into "reality" and teaching me that Santa was of the debil, elves were really demons, and reign-deer.....well, they just don't fly Molly, grow up! If anyone did try to convince her of any such nonsense, she totally ignored them and went on letting me be a kid, and finding out on my own one day, as I was sure to do. ( Thank you momma <3 ) I did, however, grow up in church. I was an angel every year in the Christmas play, as far back as I can remember. I was taught the true meaning of Christmas- by Godly Pastors and Sunday School teachers, and by a very Godly mother. I have never lost sight of what this season is all about, and I never will- in fact, it grows more precious to me with every Christmas. And, at the risk of sounding like a Hallmark Christmas movie cliche', the 'spirit of Christmas' is love and giving. I'm an adult now- I'm not foolish enough to believe in the mythical character of Santa Claus- I do however, know that character evolved from a real man, who's name wassss, Nicholas :) He became an orphan in his early childhood when his parents tragically died, and he was raised by an uncle. He inherited his parent's fortune, and when he was older, he spent it all giving to poor people, especially children. Because of his selfless generosity, Nicholas was sainted by the church after his death. Hence, Saint Nicholas. Over the years, folklore has added things to his legendary legacy, such as the sack that never runs out of toys, that are made by elves, and transported to every house, all in one night. All a part of a child's world, a fairy tale, not very different at all from a beautiful young girl who was treated as a servant by her wicked stepmother after her father's death, who met the man of her dreams at the party of the year....and lived happily ever after.
The name "Santa Claus" evolved from the German form of his real title and name, Sankt Niklaus (Saint Nicholas). In 1821, a book entitled "The Children's Friend" was published in America. It was the story of Sante Claus, who arrived from the North Country by flying reigndeer on Christmas Eve, who rewarded good behavior with "safe" toys such as dolls, balls, and books. He also rewarded bad behavior with black birch switches. Two years later, Clement Clark Moore wrote "A visit from St Nicholas", which today is better known as "Twas the night before Christmas". Over the next several decades, illustrationist Washington Irving and cartoonist Thomas Nast created the Americanized Santa Claus, based on the description of him in the now infamous poem. Norman Rockwell portrayed Santa in his popular illustrations by the 1920's, and in 1931, Haddon Sundblom created the Coca-Cola Santa advertisements that span a period in the soft drink company of 35 years. This Santa has become a part of iconic American culture.
So, there is absolutely no connection between the names of "Santa" and "SATAN", just because they contain the same letters- that has to be one of the most moronic arguments the church world has ever come up with! Nooooo, he's not hiding horns under that red cap, and no, there is no coincidence that they both *ahem* wear red (omg)..... C'mon folks!!! Let kids be kids- let them use their imagination.... unless of course the toy, the cartoon, the game, or whatever goes CLEARLY contradictory to scripture (without your twist on it). They grow up to be cynical adults (like us) way to fast anyway- stop trying to jerk them into reality and force them to act 25 when they're still in the single digits, for cryin out loud! And about the "well, it's unfair because every child in the world doesn't get presents on Christmas morning, even in America!" argument, ....aaaaaand??? Your point is???? That, unfortunately, is just a sad fact of life, just like every child in America doesn't have a closet full of clothes, a nice home, internet/cable/x-boxes/cell phones, plenty of food.....you gonna take those things away from the children who ARE blessed enough to have these things because of that fact? Have YOU ever donated to Toys for Tots, or sponsored a child of of an angel tree? Instead of spending your time griping about kids believing in Santa, maybe you could BE Santa for some underprivileged kids! What's evil about giving, about making a child smile, and believe there's still things to be happy about in this troubled world we live in...for just a few short years until they have to lay their childhood aside and take on the responsibilities and stress of adulthood? It goes without saying that any decent parent teaches their children the REAL meaning of the Christmas season, the real reason for celebrating- the coming to earth of Jesus, the son of GOD- the one who would grow to be, the most precious gift of all, the doorway to eternal life. Nicholas accepted that gift.....and I for one, think it will be petty awesome to run into Santa Claus in Heaven one day ;)
On a closing note, let me just throw THIS out there- For as long as I can remember, "Season's Greeting's" and "Happy Holidays" have been used on Christmas decor and cards every bit as much as "Merry Christmas".....when did these become EVIL?!?!?! Just because some people of certain groups/races wanna act stupid and ban the use of a simple phrase only because it contains the word "Christ" and that offends them, it does not mean.....hear me? it does NOT mean, that everyone who uses another greeting phrase occasionally is a politically correct liberal idiot! IT IS A GREETING, PEOPLE- a friendly greeting to wish you happiness during this time of year. Quit automatically assuming that everyone who says "Happy Holidays" is a godless atheist!....On the other hand, the word X-mas, IS an in-your-face, clear as daylight liberal word- it's self-explanatory! Not to mention, just plain lazy....I mean really, just how much energy does it take to write SIX letters instead of one???!
Soooooooo, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Praise God, Halellujah, and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!
