Ok. Yes. Christmas is, in part, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. I am Catholic, I believe in Jesus, and I was raised to believe that he is the son of God, etc, etc, etc. I think having that emphasis for children is important. It's definately more about that than about the gifts, the candy, or the pretty Christmas tree.
BUT keep in mind, that is all a belief. They call it mythology for a reason.
In my wonderful wonderful fabulous group of women I am a part of (my online Toasted and
Crunchy Mommas that are all AWESOME) all come from very diverse backgrounds. Atheists to Hard-Core Christians. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Philippians, you name it. Ranging from 22-40 years old, this group is the shit. So around Christmas, lots of interesting topics are brought up. So it got me to thinking what I believe "Christmas" is about, and what I want to teach Isabelle.
Christmas IS about Jesus's birth. (We covered that already). BUT. . .
Christmas is not just about December 25th. It's about the entire month of December. People (argue with me on this if you want) are more giving. More patient. More kind. It's about the spirit of the season that brings families and friends come together to let everyone know how much they care. Mearly saying it's about Jesus and nothing else is. . . well. . . just plain silly.
It's about Santa. Yes. We do Santa. To me, Santa represents the spirit of Christmas. Some parents think they are lying to their children, it promotes consumerism, is not part of the original Christmas story. . . I couldn't disagree more. It is okay, and IMPORTANT, for children to live out and explore
fantasies. Santa Claus, Cinderella, Fairies and Unicorns. It's healthy. It encourages them to be bold and dare to dream. At some point, many of us loose the ability to immerse ourselves in such fantasy and embrace stress and reality instead. I loved the idea of Santa growing up, and I still do. Parents will argue that Christmas can still be magical without him, but I argue that it is NOT as nearly (even by 1/2) as magical. In any stretch of the imagination. I can't imagine never writing Santa a letter or leaving him cookies on Christmas Eve. I can't imagine being fluffed of the idea that presents would magically appear under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. I would've had no anticipation sneaking down the stairs at 5am wondering if Santa had come. I wouldn't have eagerly looked out my car door window every Christmas Eve coming home from Grandma's hoping I would catch a glimpse of Santa and his reindeer flying through the night sky. Ugh, how depressing! We are SO doing Santa. We will let Isabelle believe what she wants to believe and not discourage her imagination. I don't see a point in pushing a belief on her (i.e. religion) and discouraging her own beliefs - fairytale or not. "And when she has lost her belief, of course we will tell her the truth in the most gentle and sincere way possible.
"Christmas" is also about recognizing other religions and beliefs. I really want Isabelle to know about what else is out there. Of course, I'll admit this is going to take some research on my part. Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim. . . exposure and knowledge is important. I really would like to get a Menorah next year and start new traditions in our family.
Not to be negative, but just a reminder too that Christmas was originally a rather violent and sinister pagan holiday. Just sayin'. . . so Christmas isn't JUST about "Christ". It was way deeper than that.
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