To atheist parents, the Santa Claus ordeal?

Question

To have them believe or not to believe, that is the question. Will you raise your child to believe in Santa Claus?

Oh, come on, I'd like to know. I'm not religious, I'd just like to hear some opinions on the subject.

See, I'm kind of torn in between wanting them to believe in it for the fun of it and not wanting to have them suffer delusions, myths, or disappointment.

Answer 1

I see the point you're hoping to make. Santa is a jolly fat man who brings gifts for Christmas day. God is a supreme being, our creator...to whom we devote our lives or burn in hellfire.

Other than the fact that neither exists, where's the comparison?

I encouraged my kids to grow up believing in the fat man. Who am I to spoil a kid's Christmas?

There's really no comparison between the two.

Answer 2

To those who don't see the harm in letting your child believe in Santa Clause. Teaching your children to believe in a lie is not harmful? What is that teaching your child? You can decide to celebrate winter and tell your children that there will be presents (if you so choose to recognize such an event) from you and your family. When your child is approached by children in school who tell him/her that there is a Santa Clause, tell them the truth. That is an old tale of a man named Saint Nicholas who brought presents to the children and people try to keep the legend alive and eventually when they get older they will outgrow the belief in Santa Clause. How difficult is that? Children are a product of their environment. Who they will be when they grow up depends on what the adults teach them.

Answer 3

I do not have children yet, but if I ever do, it will be a serious discussion with my wife on whether or not to do the Santa Claus / Easter Bunny ordeal.

Personally? I prefer not to lie to my kids about Santa Claus.

Answer 4

I've pondered this question myself. I decided that even though I feel that it is important to have a child use reason and logic to analyze the world around them, I think that it would be best to go along with the Santa Claus bit. I think that for the most part, it is a joyful experience for children and finding out the truth is rarely mentally scaring. On a positive note, hopefully it would teach them to question authority and others assumptions, even mine. I know that when questioning my own faith that lead me to atheism, it was convenient for me to be able to understand how illogical human minds can be when I thought about how I used to believe in a fat guy in a red suit that flew around the world in a sleigh drawn by flying reindeer and handed out presents that his elves made. Somehow that made perfect sense when I was young. I decided that it would be an overall positive thing to play along, it could also cause your child to be ostracized if he goes against the grain. That's no different than atheism in adulthood, but adults can usually deal with the situation more effectively.

Answer 5

Well I'm not an atheist but am one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I was not raised celebrating holidays like Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine's, etc. I was taught the reason my parents didn't celebrate 'holidays' was because they were unscriptural and conflicted with God's teachings. Santa Claus is derived from old Norse mythology, a modern interpretation of the Norse god Thor. Jesus was not born on December 25, as that time of year is cold and rainy and shepherds would not have been outside with their flocks, while the Bible says they were outside when the angels announced to them Jesus' birth. December 25 was originally the 'birthday' of the Roman sun god, and after the death of the apostles the church apostasized. They adopted pagan customs and gave them 'Christian' titles, so as to gain popularity with the pagan masses. Mistletoe, the Christmas tree, the Yule log, Santa Claus, and the tradition of winter season gift giving are all derived from pagan Germanic and Roman customs. Halloween, Easter, and Valentine's Day are also derived from pagan sources, not God's teachings.

Answer 6

Yeah we did Santa. We did the easter bunny and the tooth fairy too.

My sisters are both fundy christians - older than I am. I got to see what their holidays were like...basically with all the childhood fun sucked out of them :) Their kids had no Santa, none of that stuff and watching them helped push me over the edge of what to do with my own kids.

Answer 7

If my husband wants our children to believe in Santa, then by all means, they will. But not letting your child think that a fat guy in a red suit is bringing them gifts for good behavior is going to strain their imaginations, also if they know that you are giving them the gifts, then they won't care if they are good or not.

Answer 8

Why is it that people view Santa Claus as a lie to children.

Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) of Myra was a real person. He was one of the early church fathers. He is recorded as being at the Council of Nicea.

He was a good man. A generous man who helped many. He also fought hard and risked his life many times so that Christianity would survive. While Christianity is bogus to Atheists, fighting for what you believe in shouldn't be.

So don't teach your kids that a jolly fellow in a red suit (his bishop's robes...) comes every Christmas. Since you don't believe in Christ you wouldn't be celebrating his birthday anyway would you?

But you can teach your kids about the real man. You don't even have to call him a saint. Nicholas of Myra. To tell your children Santa Claus is a lie will just lead to a lot of fights and alienation in school. To teach them about the real Nicholas of Myra will lead to dialog. Saint Nick teaches us about kindness and generosity. How to love those who don't even know you. Those who think your crazy! [insert big dumb grin]

It would be similar to teaching them about George Washington or Abe Lincoln. People who fought for what they believed in. People who stood for what was right when others ran away.

See the link below for one of my favorite stores about good old Saint Nick...

Answer 9

Mostly it comes from school, I have three children, the youngest is too young to know, but I have never outright lied to them, its mostly a nod and a wink, they will work it out in their own time.

I also follow the same approach to the god ordeal.

Children are a little bit more resilient that many take them to be, apologies to those whos lives were scarred by the revelation there was no tooth fairy, but whichever you choose they WILL get over it.

Answer 10

I Promised myself that I will never lie to my child about anything, So when it comes to Santa Claus, Why would I want to tell my child something that wasn't true.