Do any Christians use Santa and not feel guilty (CC obviously)

[myfunnybunch]

We are Christian. We focus on celebrating Christ as the reason for this season. We feel the deep joy of the season.

 

And we play Santa. It's a lovely game and we love the traditions and memories we're creating for our family. We don't feel the least bit guilty about it.

 

:)

 

Cat

[AmericanMom]

We're Christians, and Santa still comes to my home every year -- no guilt here!

 

Well, I do feel a little guilty that I hid the obnoxious Santa that sings JIngle Bell Rock while shaking his hips that someone gave my kids a few years ago and I just couldn't take him anymore!

 

Of course, Puck the mischievous fairy visits my house, too, and hides socks in the dryer and does other annoying things. :) We pretty much have a superhighway from Fairy Land that runs through here. (Strangely enough, the laundry fairy REFUSES to go in my boys' room and pick up their laundry, though they regularly leave offerings for her...:D)

[gardenmom5]

Well, I do feel a little guilty that I hid the obnoxious Santa that sings JIngle Bell Rock while shaking his hips that someone gave my kids a few years ago and I just couldn't take him anymore!

)

 

three words.

 

white. elephant. gift.

 

those things are a huge hit at our christmas parties every year. (billy bass showed up one year, and everyone got a kick out of it.)

[JessReplanted]

I love Jesus

 

and

 

I 'love' Santa.

 

No guilt. ;)

[Heidi]

"I want to emphasize that I have no quarrel with that well-fed gentleman with the red suit and white whiskers. He was very generous to me when I was a boy, and we are looking forward to his visit at our home. All of those things with reference to Christmas are appropriate and good and all of them are for children -- except, I suppose, the mistletoe." -- Elder Boyd K. Packer

[meggie]

"I want to emphasize that I have no quarrel with that well-fed gentleman with the red suit and white whiskers. He was very generous to me when I was a boy, and we are looking forward to his visit at our home. All of those things with reference to Christmas are appropriate and good and all of them are for children -- except, I suppose, the mistletoe." -- Elder Boyd K. Packer

:party:

[linguistmama]

dh tells of one christmas party where the "stake high council" wore reindeer antlers and did the cancan at a ward christmas party. that was in provo. (not a student ward.) dh said someone video taped it . . . .

 

I bet that could go viral on youtube! :lol:

 

"I want to emphasize that I have no quarrel with that well-fed gentleman with the red suit and white whiskers. He was very generous to me when I was a boy, and we are looking forward to his visit at our home. All of those things with reference to Christmas are appropriate and good and all of them are for children -- except, I suppose, the mistletoe." -- Elder Boyd K. Packer

 

:hurray:

 

I like the LDS homeschooling blog overall, but it is better now that more WTMers also contribute. :) The TJED posts that imply that if you're really righteous you would use that method cross the line.

[TexasRachel]

I don't have a problem having Santa at Christmas. I always tell the kids the reason for gifts is because the wise men brought gifts for Jesus so we give gifts to others too. Santa is just the guy who hands them out.

[MamaSheep]

I don't feel the least bit guilty about having Santa be a part of our Christmas celebrations. In fact, when I was growing up, Santa came to the ward Christmas parties!

 

Every ward I've been in has had Santa visit the ward Christmas party. Of course, there's also always been some sort of Nativity display or play (usually with the Primary kids as "actors"), or one year there was a talent show. But always a mix of sacred and secular Christmas traditions. In the church building! :tongue_smilie:

 

dh tells of one christmas party where the "stake high council" wore reindeer antlers and did the cancan at a ward christmas party. that was in provo. (not a student ward.) dh said someone video taped it . . . .

 

 

My dh played Santa at a ward Christmas party when he was in the bishopric one time. The bishop would have made a much better Santa as he was older and more Santa-shaped, but dh was the youngster in the bishopric and kind of drew the short straw...lol. But he had a good time handing out candy canes to the kids and hearing their Christmas wishes.

 

We still do Santa as part of Christmas (along with other, more Christ-centered activities) at our house even though both kids "know", because it's a fun game. No guilt here. Sometimes we've let the kids stay up a little bit late and put presents under the tree while playing at being Santa's elves. It's a lot of giggly fun. Nobody around here has been confused about what's real and what's not. Nobody is turning into a selfish, materialistic Scrooge. Maybe Santa doesn't work for some families for whatever reason. I don't have a problem with it. And I sometimes think that hyper-focusing on eliminating Santa is at least as distracting from the true focus of Christmas as hyper-focusing on including Santa. If you're busy looking around for another Santa to stamp out, your eyes are not on the Savior. ("You" in the general sense, not "you" personally, of course.) I know Christmas isn't The Day Christ Was Born. But you know what? Sometimes we celebrate my kids' birthdays on a Saturday even though their birthday is on a Tuesday because it's more convenient. At my daughter's school they celebrate a child's birthday at the six-month mark if their birthday is in the summer so they don't feel left out (which frankly I think is a little silly, but whatever). For me, the idea that a handy pagan holiday was adopted as a convenient time to celebrate Christ's birth is not a really big deal. I can still celebrate Christ. I can think of an evergreen tree as a symbol of eternal life. I can think of Santa as a tradition of giving handed down to us in a game of "telephone" from Saint Nicholas, who certainly believed in Christ. And I figure whatever traditions help me focus on Christ at Christmas (and any other time of the year) are worth keeping. So that's my two cents. :)

[Liz CA]

Well, "Santa" (the *real* Santa, aka St Nicholas) *was* Christian, and that's what I try to focus on with my kids. That here was a great Christian man who loved children, and wanted to bless them, just as Jesus loved and blessed the children during His Earthly ministry. I use the Santa legend as a way to point back to Christ.

 

 

Exactly what we did. It seems to have had no effect whatsoever on ds's faith. He always knew in whom to believe.

[MeaganS]

Another Santa lover here. I don't ever remember completely believing in Santa when I was a kid, and for us Santa is fun. I'm with Elder Packer on this one!

[Ellie]

None of my Christian friends who do Santa (and that would be most of them; I'm usually odd man out) have ever said anything about feeling guilty.

[teachmejoy]

I didn't have a chance to read everyone's reply, so I don't know if anyone has mentioned this or not...

 

I struggled with this concept for awhile until I found this book called A Special Place for Santa. It does an awesome job of telling who Santa Clause really was and ends with him kneeling at the manger. I loved it and it "freed" me to continue with Santa Clause without guilt.

 

I believe it's a Catholic book, but I am not catholic and still love it!

 

http://www.catholiccompany.com/special-place-santa-book-p3001227/

[UnsinkableKristen]

We are Christians and I've never felt remotely guilty about doing Santa. Not even a eensy weensy bit :D.

[ereks mom]

I'm a Christian. I love Jesus. I believe with my whole heart. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Santa!!!! I believed as a child, and when I was let in on the secret I did not feel betrayed and I never questioned God. Stop feeling guilty and enjoy!

 

:iagree:

[Kari C in SC]

We do Santa with ZERO guilt. I don't think faith in salvation through Jesus Christ means that we need to suck all of the whimsy and joy out of this world. Frankly, it always seem pretty pharisaical to me.

 

We do the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, santa, ect. They all have aged out of it around 7. I'm going to miss these years!

 

:iagree:

[Captivated]

We are Christians and I've never felt remotely guilty about doing Santa. Not even a eensy weensy bit :D.

 

:iagree:

[gardenmom5]

"I want to emphasize that I have no quarrel with that well-fed gentleman with the red suit and white whiskers. He was very generous to me when I was a boy, and we are looking forward to his visit at our home. All of those things with reference to Christmas are appropriate and good and all of them are for children -- except, I suppose, the mistletoe." -- Elder Boyd K. Packer

 

I love President Packer. lol.

 

I bet that could go viral on youtube! :lol:

except it was back in the early 70's.

 

 

 

:hurray:

 

I like the LDS homeschooling blog overall, but it is better now that more WTMers also contribute. :) The TJED posts that imply that if you're really righteous you would use that method cross the line.

 

You are far more polite than I would be. There was one lds homeschool list (there are a few classical lds groups I know of) where one TJed'er all but directly accused anyone who disagreed with demille (or worse, pointed out the weaknesses of his program after having studied it.) of being heretics and likening it to being an apostate. And anyone who listened to contrary opinions on his program were reading anti-mormon literature. When I called her on it, asking if she really thought they were equal, she did shut up and refused to answer. Now I know why I had such a creepy feeling when reading through the TJEd materials.

Edited December 13, 2011 by gardenmom5

[KungFuPanda]

My faith was not shaken by learning that Santa and the Tooth Fairy were imaginary. It was fun while it lasted. My children are AT LEAST as intelligent and educated as I was, so I'm not worried. :D. We're all about holiday joy and have a 'more is more' mindset when it comes to blending secular and religious traditions.