Re: Thanks for this Ev & Santa Clause

Many Chrsitians nowdays are going back into the roots and beginnings of things instead of just accepting every tradition just because it is tradition. Hence I know a lot of people for whom anything smacking of the holiday, ie; trees, lights, presents, decorations, etc. are far too pagan and don't belong in a Christian home.
I have not been able to adopt this rigid adherence to purity in practice into my own life.

I thnik that the trees, lights and other things are all beautiful, and I think it provides a time of excitement for my child. As far as Santa, that's where I draw the line. However, I think children become accostumed to what you introduce them to, and if you are carefully balancing their exposure to different things in their proper context, then they'll be all right. My daughter wakes up on Christmas morning to find surprise presents under the tree from her family and friends. As she has gotten older, the last couple of years we have gone to buy presents for others and she gets exited looking for things that she knows someone needs or wants. So this becomes a time for learning about generousity, practicality, frugality (as we seek to stay within budget), sharing and expectation, different from other times of the year.
I have explained to her since she started school, that there are children who are in homes where the parents put up Santa's, but that we don't because we believe Christmas is about Someone much more important than Santa, and that concentrating on him would take away importance from our Lord. However, she is also told that she must never make any other little child feel bad if at home they do things differently, but if she wants to and if they ask, she can explain why we do things a little differently at our home.
She has understood perfectly and her Chrsitmases have all been wonderful for her, and although she doesn't see it as the best time of the year, it is a fun time. I also tell her that we are celebrating the birth of Christ every day, not just at Christmas, but that separating a season to have fun is all right. Therefore the truth is presented to her in a way that she can assimilate for her years.

On another note, I recently had a friend drop by unexpectedly whom I had not seen in a long time. I had just put up a little tree about a couple of hours earlier, and in she walked and looked horrified when this little tree was twinkling and twirling around in full defiance of her acknowleged disdain for such things.
Naturally, I felt a little sheepish, but times like that are what makes us look hard into what it is that we really believe.
Irony is, since I travel cross-country to celebrate the Christmas holiday in california, I spend 2 to 3 weeks out of my home. Therefore this was the first time since I moved to this coast that I had put up a tree here. Oh well!
I really think what makes a child the happiest is the amount of quality sharing that you give them on anything, but if there is something that in your heart you feel would offend God, then that will not be a good thing to give your child, because it won't even come out of a clean conscience, and they eventually pick up on that. Not good.