Wait a minute - There's a "Great Santa Claus Debate?"

Hello there. I know I wrote yesterday, but man has this been bugging me.

I grew up, and still reside in, a conservative state. Christian and country music rule a lot of the airwaves, and there are probably be more churches than Starbucks in any given city. We are Southern, we are Sacred, and we are traditional.

However, even growing up in a devout Catholic family, there was never a question of whether Santa Claus was comin' to our house. He was sure to be there, every Christmas Eve, leaving American Girl Dolls, socks and sweaters beneath our Christmas tree.

And never once did I associate Santa Claus with taking away the true meaning of Christmas. In fact, I loved and still love Christmas mass at my home church. Even though I am no longer an active Catholic, the dimmed lights, candles, and powerful hymns of joy still bring me to a state of awe and fill my heart with a feeling of love, and goodwill towards men.

Which is why it's so disturbing to me to see that so many parents are pulling away from the secular side of the holidays, particularly the practice of Santa Claus. Maybe it's because I did grow up learning of the saints, but didn't St. Nick first originate with Saint Nicholas, a bishop, devout christian, and giver of gifts? In fact,  many cultures around the world celebrate Santa on his feast day - December 6th, in honor of his memory and devotion to God.

Santa isn't about taking the focus away from the birth of Jesus. Santa is magic - a tangible figure that promotes moral behavior, and the practice of bestowing tokens of love for those around us. What could possibly be so wrong about that? Doesn't the golden rule teach us that we should "Do unto others as we would have them do unto us?"

In my mind, anything or person who can help a child follow the path of ethical decisions is a welcome thing.

Now I know what some of you are thinking - shouldn't we be teaching our children that Jesus is the best example of how live a good life? In short, yes. But children are children, and many of them aren't capable of understand the concepts of sacrifice.

And so we have Santa. With his jolly attitude, and historically christian background, to show them that Christmas is a time of happiness and joy, and helping others to feel the same.

So as I was taught, I will teach my children about the birth of the Savior, as well as the magic of Santa Claus. Hey, I may even change my lazy position of the elf on the shelf and participate in that. Because I want Christmas to be as magical as possible for my daughter, just as it is for me to do this day.

Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Thursday!

Love,
Dominique