Want to get drama out of a parenting community?

[velvetpage]

Ask if perpetuating a belief in Santa is lying, or is it okay for an eleven-year-old to still wholeheartedly believe in Santa.

Oy vey, the DRAMA. I know of at least two defriendings so far.

For the record: Being a Unitarian has really freed me up on this front, because I don't have to deal with, "If Jesus is real, why isn't Santa real?" I can truthfully say that Jesus (or God) is at least as real as Santa (possibly more) because they are both cultural myths whose purpose is to perpetuate certain core values - in fact very similar core values, though there are a lot of interpretations of Jesus that are expressing different ones. The story doesn't have to be literally true in order to contain valuable truth. In fact, its literal truth is irrelevant to its mythical truth. No one would ever think to argue that Aesop's Fables were literally true - but their value in perpetuating culturally-appropriate lessons is undisputed.

I'd like to see my kids make the gradual transition from believing all the parts of the story literally, to realizing that some of it is clearly not true, to realizing that its literal truth has no impact on why we do it. Santa is about charity, and love, and peace. He's a visual representation of those things. (We can de-emphasize the other things he represents in Western culture.)

Comments

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I avoid the spanking ones for the most part. This one, well - I'm coming to a better relationship with my views on mythology, religious belief, and their interaction with this concept we call truth. I'm more willing to wade into it now.

[jadedissola.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I can see how that can be sort of freeing in a way to be able to discuss it without discomfort (well, your discomfort at any rate). I remember how nice it was to have conversations about religion and belief without all my hang-ups about being right or wrong, or caring what other people thought about it.

I'm always amazed at what will set people off, and I never thought the Santa thing was a big deal to start with. My parents pretty much let me come to my own conclusions once I hit a certain age. They were content to let me believe as long as I wanted, though they didn't put as much effort into hiding it as they did when I was, say, four or five. Maybe it's because I wasn't raised in an overly religious household, but when I learned Santa wasn't real, I still never thought God or Jesus were fake. They were on a wholly different level than Santa back then. Kind of hard to explain, but as a child it seemed so logical to me.