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As a Chilld
- Thread starter Salty
- Start date
Yes we all believed in Santa Claus.....even though he usually wore army boots and would be having a beer on the sly....we were army brats and the corp always put on a great day (at least in our eyes). The day was always hot, Santa would be red and sweaty, kids would be trying to drown themselves in the lake.
We always went to church for giving thanks for the birth of baby Jesus...and of course there was the nativity scene.
I guess when I was really young it was just a great day, but I was lucky to grow up and have traditions of plum pud with thru'penny bits and great slabs of watermelon. Christmas in Australia was always a weird almagmation of British heritage and Australian heat. Grandparents, uncles and aunties and oodles of cousins....
We always went to church for giving thanks for the birth of baby Jesus...and of course there was the nativity scene.
I guess when I was really young it was just a great day, but I was lucky to grow up and have traditions of plum pud with thru'penny bits and great slabs of watermelon. Christmas in Australia was always a weird almagmation of British heritage and Australian heat. Grandparents, uncles and aunties and oodles of cousins....
David Lamb
Well-Known Member
My parents, in common with most UK parents of the 1950s, did not even mention "Santa Claus". Here, it was always "Father Christmas". :laugh:
Praise God, I am sure that God saves (causes to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ) people who as children believed in Santa Claus and people who didn't, people who once had bowed down in worship before dumb idols, and people who didn't, people who had parents who were Christians, and people who didn't, and so on.
Praise God, I am sure that God saves (causes to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ) people who as children believed in Santa Claus and people who didn't, people who once had bowed down in worship before dumb idols, and people who didn't, people who had parents who were Christians, and people who didn't, and so on.
Jesus was not even an issue in our home, we were not Christians. Later I believed. Today, my kids know Santa is not real, but like other fictional characters we do not believe there is anything wrong with Santa, but it is a fictional character. I see no benefit in pretending it is real, but I do see benefit in allowing my kids to know the truth.
My parents did not say one thing or the other about Santa Claus.
My brother and I just picked it up from the culture. It's hard to explain, but my belief in Santa Claus was something of a "wouldn't it be fun if it were true" fantasy thing instead of a true belief, so my parents went along with it.
The thing that kept the fantasy going was that I couldn't figure out how all of those presents appeared in the middle of the night without the noise waking me up. At the time, I didn't realize how soundly most little kids sleep!
On one memorable Xmas morning, my brother and I woke up to find only a few presents under the tree, the ones that had been there for a couple of weeks for expected family and friends.
My parents heard the commotion and "found" one of Santa's bags that he had apparently dropped off, but didn't unload for some reason. "Maybe the dog scared him off?" :laugh:
I didn't really have trouble believing in Jesus because I met Jesus... not in a face-to-face way, but certainly experienced His presence. However I need to point out that I came to faith as a teenager, under heavy conviction, not as a young child that was manipulated into "walking the aisle" and getting baptized in order to get the Sunday School teachers off my back like so many of my friends. The children's Sunday School program at my home church wanted to get everyone "saved" and baptized by the time they were 12. Once I passed the age of 12 and ended up in the youth group, people assumed I was already "saved" or was destined for the fires of hell anyway, so people stopped hassling me about getting baptized.
My brother and I just picked it up from the culture. It's hard to explain, but my belief in Santa Claus was something of a "wouldn't it be fun if it were true" fantasy thing instead of a true belief, so my parents went along with it.
The thing that kept the fantasy going was that I couldn't figure out how all of those presents appeared in the middle of the night without the noise waking me up. At the time, I didn't realize how soundly most little kids sleep!
On one memorable Xmas morning, my brother and I woke up to find only a few presents under the tree, the ones that had been there for a couple of weeks for expected family and friends.
My parents heard the commotion and "found" one of Santa's bags that he had apparently dropped off, but didn't unload for some reason. "Maybe the dog scared him off?" :laugh:
I didn't really have trouble believing in Jesus because I met Jesus... not in a face-to-face way, but certainly experienced His presence. However I need to point out that I came to faith as a teenager, under heavy conviction, not as a young child that was manipulated into "walking the aisle" and getting baptized in order to get the Sunday School teachers off my back like so many of my friends. The children's Sunday School program at my home church wanted to get everyone "saved" and baptized by the time they were 12. Once I passed the age of 12 and ended up in the youth group, people assumed I was already "saved" or was destined for the fires of hell anyway, so people stopped hassling me about getting baptized.
Here in the city, parents had to improvise the story, such as saying he comes down the fire escape, instead of the chimney. Never seeing any mention of this on the TV specials, and then realizing that the toys given were the same that could be found in the store all year round, I realized it wasn't true. I even exclaimed to my mother (which she still recounts) "You all lied to me!"
The family was agnostic anyway, so eventually, it figured that Jesus fit in with that. (It was only the older generations that were "religious", and they just seemed to avoid any kind of modern knowledge, which made it look all the more like a myth). I had to rediscover Him on my own in adulthood, and even then, it was very difficult.
The family was agnostic anyway, so eventually, it figured that Jesus fit in with that. (It was only the older generations that were "religious", and they just seemed to avoid any kind of modern knowledge, which made it look all the more like a myth). I had to rediscover Him on my own in adulthood, and even then, it was very difficult.
I grew up with Santa, the Easter bunny, tooth fairy and the whole bit. Eventually, I outgrew all that stuff, but it is still fun to pretend. I never accused my parents of lying and it did not stop me from accepting the inerrancy and authority of the Bible. Nor did it stop me from believing that Jesus was a real person - God manifest in the flesh who gave his live to be the sacrifice for our sins.
SaggyWoman
Active Member
I don't really think Santa was a "teaching" in my house. But, I know he didn't visit my house every year!
I chose "Other" since none of the choices apply to me. I don't remember believing in Santa; nor was I taught that he existed or that he didn't. Nothing was ever said about him in our home. The subject of Santa never came up with my daughters. If it had, I would have told them the truth since I didn't believe in lying to them as my dad did to me.
I knew where all the presents came from--my mother. Christmas as the world celebrates it never had much meaning to me since my "presents" were generally clothes--the only time (including my birthday) when I got any new clothes. However they were just socks, winter gloves, T-shirts, and underwear. All other clothes were hand-me-downs from my overweight dad, and I was skinny. Most of my clothes came from the Salvation Army and looked like it, and I was ridiculed severely by my peers because of it.
I knew where all the presents came from--my mother. Christmas as the world celebrates it never had much meaning to me since my "presents" were generally clothes--the only time (including my birthday) when I got any new clothes. However they were just socks, winter gloves, T-shirts, and underwear. All other clothes were hand-me-downs from my overweight dad, and I was skinny. Most of my clothes came from the Salvation Army and looked like it, and I was ridiculed severely by my peers because of it.
lilyvalley
New Member
There's nothing wrong with believing in Santa and its not a lie to celebrate Santa with your kids. My mom and dad also taught all of us about Jesus and that while Santa was fun he was not the reason.
seekingthetruth
New Member
This is the last Christmas that my 6 year old will believe in Santa. We plan to tell him after the holidays are over.
However, even though he believes in Santa, he can tell you the whole story of the birth of Jesus, and has been able to since he was about 2 years old.
Christmas Eve in our house is a celebration of the birth of Christ with Bible reading and prayer. Christmas day is a day for gifts and good food and fellowship.
We have Santa, but don't leave Jesus out. Why do some Christians believe it has to be one or the other and can't be both?
John
However, even though he believes in Santa, he can tell you the whole story of the birth of Jesus, and has been able to since he was about 2 years old.
Christmas Eve in our house is a celebration of the birth of Christ with Bible reading and prayer. Christmas day is a day for gifts and good food and fellowship.
We have Santa, but don't leave Jesus out. Why do some Christians believe it has to be one or the other and can't be both?
John
So if I had said to my daughters, "You had better be good, or Santa won't bring you any presents" isn't lying to them? Apparently, you and I have different ideas as to what "lying" means. Saying ANYTHING with the idea of fooling, convincing others of something that is not true, or deceiving others is definitely a LIE.
While I know that children need their pretend times, I also believe it is wrong to encourage them to believe something that is not true and to lie to them in any way. Once a child learns that parents have lied to them about one thing, they will question other things that their parents tell them--including about Jesus.
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