For Christians with kids.?

Question

This question is for those of you who did NOT or plan NOT to follow the myths of Santa and the Easter Bunny....
What will you tell them?
How will you celebrate the holiday?
Will you still do a tree and presents?
Will you just explain the myths to them?
How will you handle the secular grandparents?

Answer 1

my parents told me the truth, they said when I was at younger age that Santa was a man who was a bishop that loved children and gave gifts to the children, St. Nicholas was his name, they told me that people have taken it to far. Jesus is the reason for Christmas, its okay to like the fictional character, but put Jesus first, St. nick was a good man, he is dead now. But the red suit is a fictional story. The Easter bunny we as kids did not believe in, but we had egg hunts and baskets, that was okay, we knew the real reason for Easter was Jesus. My parent used to tell me we ate the Easter bunny when i was a teen, it was funny, but as a kid, they told me it was a fictional story. We did still have a Christmas tree with presents and that was okay, I don't think God gets upset with that, Let the Gran parents have their fun, but tell the Kids the truth, be kind the the in laws, respect them, but it shouldn't be a problem if the kids know the truth, and let them know that your children see Santa as a good story. My parent put from mom and dad on the gifts, from grandma grandpa etc. We did not celebrate Halloween much, we did get the candy from our mom, and would go to the harvest feast. so i hope this helps
Enjoy the holidays, Christmas trees, and Easter baskets, as long as you tell the kids the truth, they can say you never lied to them. God bless

Answer 2

I will tell them the same thing I have for the last 14 years.

1. This is the day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Santa was real (St. Nickolas - Bishop in 4th century Turkey). When my 8 year old asked me point blank if there was a Santa Clause I told her he is as real as she wants him to be.

2. On Christmas eve we go to church and celebrate with Lessons and carols. On Christmas day we exchange gifts and eat breakfast.

3. Yes we still do a tree and presents.

4. There are no myths to explain.

5. Why would I have to handle secular grandparents differently?

Answer 3

I don't have kids, and my christian parents never let us celebrate any holidays because it was "too secular," and we all know that secular stuff is life threatening. It was very boring, not to mention how it made me think about my parents' religion when I saw all my friends having more fun than I was simply because of my parents' lengthy interpretation. But anywayz..

Now that I'm older, I still celebrate Christmas with gatherings and gift givings (I like to give gifts). When Jesus was born, the wise men traveled from afar to give him presents for his birthday. And on christmas, we follow their lead in giving gifts to eachother as a symbol of our love and fellowship with God and one another.

I personally prefer a tree over stockings bcuz the tale of Santa Claus says that when the town children hung their stockings by the fireplace to dry, he would come down the chimeny and put toys inside them for the kids to find the next morning. Not the first place for a mean parent to look for evil toys, hmmm. I don't know where the tree came from, but it's fun to decorate, and looks nice.

As for the Easter Bunny, I think the idea is fun, but pretty silly. It's nice to see the sun rise at an easter morning service, though.

Answer 4

I never told him about either of them and when he was eventually told by his classmates (or by TV or whatever), I used that opportunity to explain that both were great stories but, like the cartoons he watched, they weren't real. Instead, on those holidays, I explained the story of Jesus and that Christmas was an opportunity to celebrate his birthday and that Easter was a chance to celebrate his victory over death. I did mention that the exact dates of those events were unknown but that it didn't matter as long as we decided to call that his birthday...he was able to understand that because we picked birthdays for all the pets we adopted from the pound and we celebrate them too!

For Christmas, we still have a tree and presents and in deference to my dad (who's a Christian but doesn't agree with my decision to omit santa) we even have a "santa" gift (a gift my son receives that is given in the spirit of giving with no thanks required...he knows the gift was purchased by me or my dad or some other family member but doesn't always know who bought it). We don't do the "cookies and milk" thing, he doesn't write letters to Santa (he's never even asked to do so), and I don't hide outside his window with bells to make him think Santa is coming (my dad did that one). I don't attach any mystical importance to the tree, it is just a pretty decoration not unlike the flag I put on my porch on the fourth of july (that's the way I explained it to him)...in some ways I regret starting that tradition but I haven't had the heart or the conviction to stop it. I explained that giving gifts was one way to show your love for others, something Jesus commanded us to do.

Answer 5

For Easter instead of doing the whole bunny thing you can celebrate new life with the beginning of spring you can do eggs and explain they are a part of natural life. As far as Easter Sunday my children call it Resurrection Sunday we make resurrection eggs and we go to church, then we come home and have a nice big holiday meal.

Answer 6

I had explained to my daughter when she was little and now to my grandsons the following. That Christmas is the birth of Jesus and Easter is his Resurrection and we should never forget this. As for Santa and the Easter Bunny as the boys grow older and realize they are not real the following will be explained. That Santa and the Easter Bunny are representation of our love for one another and as we grow older the love will always be in our hearts and we no longer need these characters to remind us of this, that our faith in Jesus and our understanding of the world will be strong enough for us to show this love.

Answer 7

I guess you just have to be upfront and tell them that it is all a commercial lie. If you are going to do this then, no, you should not participate. However, you should also have the decency to explain to them that some children DO believe and that they should not spoil the show for all the other kids.

My personal experience of God is that of a God of pure love and peace - He is not going to be worried about a couple of Easter Eggs and a Christmas Tree..

Answer 8

You know I decided I wouldn't lie to my daughter. So when she asked I told her that I didn't believe in Santa Claus. She told me that she did. So I respected her belief. We always did the trees and holiday things. They are fun traditions for the children and family.

If I had it to do over again, I'm not sure if I would do the same thing, but I'm glad that I respected her decision and didn't push it. I think sometimes children need these things. Christians can celebrate them in a way that makes them part of our faith tradition.

Pastor John

Addendum: morelions thank you for your concern for my daughter. She was properly taught to be in reverence of the Holy and she has experienced God with power in her life.

Answer 9

We told them what we knew and understood, and that, although we understood the importance of the birth and death of Christ, we decided not to participate in the celebrations, seeing as so many unbiblical things were attached to them. We also made it plain that we were not going to condemn or judge others for observing these things.

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Answer 10

I tell them the truth and tell them some people dont understand or know the truth yet.so they play a game and pretend.i tell mine it is okay to go easter egg hunting,give gifts .but there is a real reason for those days.