Personal Views On Santa Claus Have Mom At Odds With American Traditions

Dear Tazi-Kat:

I am a devout Catholic woman, and the mother of a three-and-a-half year old daughter. I have taught her the story of Christmas, but not of Santa Claus; rather, I have shared the history of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (the man upon whom Santa Claus is loosely based).

This year, "Jillian" started attending pre-school/day-care a few days a week and I have noticed that many of the children are started to ger excited about a visit from "Santa". At three-and-a-half, I realize that my daughter is too young to spill the beans to these children that Santa Claus is not real, but I am concerned about what to tell her if she starts asking me about Santa Claus. Furthermore, I am concerned that she will repeat whatever I tell her to her classmates, and I do not want other parents to be upset with me or Jillian for ending the tradition for their children. However, I simply will not have my child believing in such nonsense!

My husband says that I am worrying about a bridge that will not be crossed this year, but I know that by next year Jillian's speech will have developed enough that she will be better able to voice her thoughts. I would like to nip this whole Santa problem in the early stages, before the materialism that has taken over Christmas takes a hold of her; my husband says to let it go for now. What do you think we should do, Tazi-Kat?

Signed,
Mary, Mother Of Jillian

Dear Mary, Mother Of Jillian:

Although it is admirable that you seek to teach your daughter the true, religious meaning behind Christmas; you must understand that not everybody celebrates with the purity that you celebrate. You call the tradition of Santa Claus "nonsense", and you are well within your right to an opinion; but many would disagree with you. I fall somewhere in between, taking the Willy Wonka view that "a little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men".

At three-and-a-half, your daughter is very impressionable, so I can understand your concerns that her views on Christmas will be warped by the materialism that Santa Claus has come to represent in our American society. Should your daughter express confusion over Santa Claus, explain to her that not all people believe the same things as you and her Daddy; and that not everyone celebrates their December holidays with Santa Claus. This should be enough to convey to her that Santa is not a part of your celebration, while preventing her from ending the tradition for other children. If your daughter's pre-school is a secular one, she probably has classmates of various, non-Christian faiths; so she will not be the only one who does not celebrate with Santa, and should not feel singled out of the crowd.

Snuggles,
Tazi

Tazi's Corner #22 - Diversity vs. Acceptance; Can't We Have Both?

Dear Readers:

I live in Rhode Island where our Governor decided to rename the State House Christmas Tree a “Holiday Tree”, in order to be inclusive of other religions that use an evergreen tree to celebrate their December holidays.  I know of no other religion that uses a cut evergreen decorated in lights to celebrate this festive season.  Some have told me that “pagans” use the evergreen, and that the Christmas tree is based upon the tradition of decorating an evergreen to celebrate the Winter Solstice. These people are only half-right. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and that appears to be what has happened here. 

I do not disagree that our pagan ancestry decorated evergreens in honor of the Winter Solstice, but they decorated live, planted evergreens and they used items found in nature!  The religions we call pagan – in particular Wicca, from which Christianity draws many of its celebratory customs – worshiped nature.  No faithful of a pagan religion would dare to cut down a live tree to celebrate nature!  If I were a follower of Wicca, I would be insulted that one would try to pass off a cut evergreen as a symbol of my beliefs in an attempt to be “inclusive” of my beliefs!  This is tantamount to someone hanging a crucifix upside down and thinking that it all means the same to a Christian. 

In our attempts to be inclusive, we offend those that society has deemed safe to offend.  Nobody would dare to call a Menorah or a Kinara a “Holiday Candelabra”, even though other religions and cultural celebrations use candles in their celebrations, too.  Why has society deemed it appropriate to offend the majority in its attempts to promote the diversity of our culture?  In the wise words of Abraham Lincoln, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”.  Room must be made for all at the holiday celebration, but not by pushing long-time guests out of the house.

Religion is a part of culture; in fact, it is one of the few anthropological universals.  Even as society as a whole moves away from the strict observation of religious mores, Christmas is still celebrated on a large scale because it has become more than a religious holiday; it has become a cultural [read: secular] celebration of our hope for peace on earth and a reminder of our own attempts to practice goodwill towards others.  These values spring not from any one religion or faith, but of the cultural views of countless nations.  How ironic that the Christmas tree – a symbol and reminder of what we celebrate as a culture, regardless of religious belief or non-belief  – has become the symbol of a divided nation!

This holiday season I send wishes to all who read this for a blessed holiday, regardless of what holiday or holidays you celebrate.  I ask that those who would normally react with intolerance towards a holiday symbol – be it a Christmas tree or a Menorah or a Kinara or a Festivus Pole – to temper your intolerance and instead indulge in curiosity.  Rather than condemn the symbol, ask questions about what it means to the person who has displayed it.  What you learn could go a long way in the fight to promote a diversity that does not discriminate.

Snuggles,

Tazi

P.S.  In order of their appearance on the calendar, I would like to wish you all a...

Hanukkah 2012 started last night!  אני מקווה שהאור של הנס באת לנצח

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish readers!

Winter Solstice is on 12/21/12.
Wishing you a blessed and festive solstice celebration!

Festivus is on 12/23/12, for those unfamiliar with this celebration!
Click here to air your grievances, Festivus revelers! 

     

December 25th - January 6th, for those who celebrate all twelve days.
That's a lot of partridges and pear trees!

December 26th - January 1st
Seven days of  thanksgiving and a celebration of African culture

More Snuggles,

Tazi

Ask Tazi! is ghostwritten by a human with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications. Tazi-Kat is not really a talking feline.