Weekend Photo - The Santa Claus Dilemma
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December 25th, 2006
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Daniel and Santa Claus
Ever since Daniel was born almost three years ago I've been dedicated to being the best parent possible. Being a good father doesn't interest me. I want to be a great father. One thing that was obvious to me at once was how crucial honesty would be in our relationship and how important it would be for my son to trust me 100 %. I decided early on to never lie to my son. No small lies, no innocent lies, and no huge lies. No lies. Period. That has worked out very well but it's now Christmas time and he understands a lot more than last year. That brings up the dilemma of Santa Claus. What do I tell him? Should I simply tell him there is no SC and we are the ones buying the presents? Or should I lie and play along?
I hate Christmas and would have no problem telling him the truth. But I was quickly over ruled by a huge Christmas fan, my wife. There would be SC, tree, lights, and Christmas spirit. So I've had to kind of go against my principles and talk about SC even though I know it's a lie. Technically I haven't been lying. My son has not actually asked me if SC exists so I have not been forced to lie to his face. But he's getting older and wiser, the inevitable question will be here soon.
Christmas and SC are great traditions but my problem is how they have been destroyed into a commercial meat market where no one remembers why we actually celebrate Christmas. It's all about shopping, presents, crowds, and buying more than he previous year. Makes me sick. I do believe in God but don't consider myself religious. But my son will get an extensive education regarding religious basics and then make up his kind what he wants to believe. If he knows the real background about Christmas, maybe he will appreciate it more? I think religion can play a nice part in peoples lives but it's currently doing much more harm than good around the world. It's really a shame that something so good has become so misused and associated with war, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, discrimination, and fanatics.
Well — Erik doesn’t have much of an opinion yet — so while we were at a store - I went down the Christmas hat and picked up a Santa “disguise” walked over to Erik — he looked at me fro 2 secs and burst out laughing and giggling — he saw right through the fake beard and all..
I think I would like to tell Erik when he can understand me — that there is no Santa Claus — and that mommy and daddy worked really hard for all those things under the Christmas tree… but that may change a couple of years down the road… I think among all our group of friends Erik was the only one during Santa Claus picture shoot that didnt freak out and cry….. including a very very scarry snowman.
Wow! Reading this blog really reminds me of Chhimi! He is a total anti-Christmas just because of the whole commericalization portion. It has totally turned us both off from the holiday. However, with Erik, Chhimi went out of his way to make to show the Christmas spirit! Definitely a jolly good Xmas in our home this year!
As Erik grows older, we’ll be telling him the truth so that way he can appreciate the gifts as they are from Mommy and Daddy. I remember when I discovered that presents don’t just appear but its because of my mom’s hardwork, it made me appreciate her a lot more and not be a “spoiled brat” asking for a lot of presents! LOL!