analog

(Right off the bat, what we're discussing here is SANTA christmas- the secular, non-religious portions of the santa christmas mythology, having nothing whatsoever to do with any religious observations of Christmas.)

The thought that prompted this discussion:

Lying to kids is stupid, even in the case of "santa clause". There's just no reason for it, and there's a huge difference between keeping something terrible from them (like Uncle Jimmy blew his head off with a 12-gauge) until they're old enough to understand, and blatantly creating an elaborate lie about "Santa". People want to get the most enjoyment out of having little kids as they can, so they create a fantasy they can latch onto which gives them all kinds hope, wonder, and joy- all of which is motivated by lying.

Here's the thing, though...

What's wrong with "Santa" as an icon, known not to be real? The whole point of the Santa Christmas (not religious christmas... just the secular santa portions) mythology is the spirit of giving, not receiving (or it should be), helping your fellow human being, and spreading good will and joy. That's a moral and a value lesson. That's a lesson in helping, sharing, and caring- not getting things, wanting things, and ignoring those less fortunate. Christmas is (and has been for many years, really) just a commercial holiday... for far too many, it has become something of greed, of material things, and selfishness. If the point of "Santa" is to spread good will, joy, togetherness, caring, giving, etc... then what are we all doing?

Questions for discussion:

1. Why do we lie to kids about Santa, when Santa as a symbol for doing good is a million times more productive and more valuable of a lesson than just giving them a fake fat guy to worship? I think it's because parents are selfish and want to squeeze out as much child-like behavior out of their children as they can. There are lots of other ways to promote imagination in children, and it seems crass to use a lie to accomplish that feat.

2. Have any of you thought about it and decided that the whole Santa Christmas thing has become a commercial enterprise, and stopped celebrating it?

As for me, I celebrate actual Christmas, as a Catholic... baby jesus, shephard, wise guys, the whole deal. I don't celebrate or support anything to do with Santa Christmas- I won't buy or otherwise support any "santa" merchandise (which goes for reindeer stuff, etc). I don't listen to Santa songs. I'm sure there are several secular Christmas songs that sneak into my listening habits (on the extreme rare occasion that I actually feel like Christmas music at Christmas time), but pretty much i'm not interested in commercial christmas music... stuff about frosty, the elves, etc.