Jesus or Santa

I grew up in a Christian home, and many people would say I was sheltered. I would agree. I used to have to convince my parents when I wanted a secular cd. Like, prepare a persuasion speech... with references.

I believed until I was 12 that a virgin was simply "a girl who is too young and cannot have a baby." So yes, sheltered.

But my parents still did Santa. But they did it a little differently. I was always taught that Santa obeyed Jesus, and in honor of Jesus' birth, Santa brought you three presents. These presents would be left unwrapped and assembled (Santa even put the boxes in the garage in case we had to return them!)

I never heard of the whole "Santa or Jesus" argument until I was older. And when I did, I didn't understand it because my parents used Santa as a teaching tool that pointed to Christ.

Now, I know many people who don't do Santa because they don't want to lie to their kids, or who want to keep the focus on Jesus. That is fine, there is nothing wrong with that. But I do think there is something wrong with telling other parents that they should or shouldn't do Santa.

Personally, I never felt like my parents lied to me (in fact, I pretended to believe in Santa for several years because I was scared I wouldn't get presents if I said I knew).

Now, one year my parents went a little too far and bought a kit that made "Santa snow prints" in the living room. 1) it was South Carolina and around 55 degrees that year, and 2) if I had believed, I would have been freaked out realizing that there is a man walking around in my house while I'm unconscious.

But that's beside the point. The point is, the way my parents did Santa Clause, I never felt like they lied to me, and I never felt like Santa was evil, or comparable to Jesus.

I don't have any kids, but when I do, I probably will tell them about Santa, the same way my parents did: that Santa is a jolly obese individual who loves Jesus and can only eat part of a cookie, probably due to diabetes. (Should the new tradition be to leave Santa insulin?)

The joy of being a child is innocence and wonder. It is the fine line between knowing and believing. I know magic wasn't real, but it is way more fun when you see a magician do a cool trick and you let yourself get wrapped up in the illusion rather than point out the strings.

For some children, having the strings revealed to them ruins that innocence, to others, it simply brings them to the line between real and imaginary.

What did your parents do? Did you feel betrayed? How did they tell you about Santa? Please share your stories!