My sister and I are at odds over this. She says that since her daughter is afraid of Santa and that teaching about Santa takes away from the true meaning of Christmas (I agree so far) EXCEPT that she thinks it is okay to teach her daughter that Frosty The Snowman brings gifts to her on Christmas morning. I do not see a difference in teaching Santa or Frosty. She says that it is okay to teach Frosty brings the presents instead of Santa because Santa takes away from the true meaning of Christmas but Frosty doesn't. It doesn't matter to me if she teaches her Santa or Frosty as long as the true meaning is also taught (which is taught) BUT I don't see what the difference is between teaching who brings gifts on Christmas morning to boys & girls. What is the difference?
2007-11-13 00:50:54 · 30 answers · asked by Love being a Mom 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Holidays ➔ Christmas
We still leave cookies & milk for Santa & we still make reindeer feed for the reindeer and we add glitter so that it sparkles on the snow and Rudolph can find our house. My kids KNOW the reason for the season but they have always enjoyed Santa. I just don't get my sister & Frosty.
2007-11-13 02:31:38 · update #1
Boy, are we missing the true meaning of Christmas here?
Saint Nicholas (Santa, Father Christmas) is about giving and learning the joy of giving, not getting. The issue isn't what you call the guy who brings gifts. The issue is teaching the child that giving gifts brings great joy to the giver. That's why Santa is such a jolly guy...
Telling her niece that Frosty brings gifts is only going to confuse her and get her in trouble with other kids when she shares this info with them. Many if not most small children are a bit afraid of Santa. Don't force her to participate in that, but do try and teach her the real reason Santa brings toys and later, when she's old enough, explain that Santa is the spirit of giving and that's why, no matter how old you get, you should always believe in him.
2007-11-13 01:00:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Yes, as small children I teach them the jolly guy in the red suit brings gifts, as they get older I start to evolve Santa Claus into the idea or spirit of giving, the joy of giving with no expectations of return, the older they get the more I elaborate on the Gift of Christ to the World, and as comprehension enhances so do the details.
On a totally different level, Frosty is just plain fun to watch. I live in Texas where snoe is an odd occurance, so that would be a hard sell, exspecially if the fact that he was made of snow was the only thing that related him to the Holidays. To have any relation to the true meaning of Christmas may escape them.
2007-11-13 01:02:39 · answer #2 · answered by wendy a 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In my home with our 15 & 13 year old daughters the rule is If You Don't Believe You Don't Receive! They know the truth but what fun would it be to say "What did Mommy & Daddy put in your stocking on Christmas morning?" My sister's kids are 24 and 21 and Santa still comes for them too! Santa isn't about taking away from the holiday at all!
What is your sister teaching the child about the turkeys on Thanksgiving, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny etc? They are symbols that bring fun and joy to the holiday or occassion. However in my opinion if Santa takes away from the true meaning of Christmas couldn't the same be said about the Easter Bunny taking away from the true meaning of Easter? These holidays are suppossed to be about the birth and resserection of Jesus not getting toys and eggs.
With this all said, please keep in mind that these are only my opinions and you an your sister have the right to teach your children whatever you want to.
May all of your Holidays be filled with much love, joy and peace!
2007-11-13 01:17:43 · answer #3 · answered by Aprilbride 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Frosty! Whats that all about? When your niece goes to school and babbles about Frosty all the other kids will make fun of her! Cuz they will all believe in Santa! I think believing in Santa is a wonderful thing for children. My daughter is 22 and I still have the letters she used to leave for Santa. They make my heart smile.
2007-11-13 02:13:58 · answer #4 · answered by badkat423 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It seems your sister doesn't recognize that one symbol is the same as the other.. Neither have anything to do with the birth of Jesus. They represent the spirit of giving to those you love.
I worried about my son when he was small and discovering that Santa isn't real. All kids go through that experience.
I always told my son that Santa represented the "Spirit" of love and giving and did not lead him to believe in a REAL LIFE FAT MAN THAT LIVED AT THE NORTH POLE. I figure he would pick up that information from his friends and TV. One day I overhear him explaining to a little buddy of his that Santa was a ghost. Now I'm thinking....a Ghost? where did that come from. Then I thought....the Spirit of Christmas and gifts. Well, folks a spirit is a ghost. So much for my plan. ha.!
2007-11-13 01:00:21 · answer #5 · answered by Lyn B 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Your sister is a moron - I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous! First of all, Santa IS religious. Saint Nicholas is the "real" Santa Clause. There were two young women who wanted to marry young men, but they had no money for a dowry. When Saint Nicholas heard about this, he came to their house after they went to sleep on Christmas Eve. He saw their stockings hanging by the fireplace to dry, and left them money for a dowry in them. From then on, he left small presents for young children on Christmas. So not only is Santa real, but he IS religious!
I'm all for keeping the "Christ" in Christmas, but I also let my son believe in Santa. How many of us were traumatized by believing in Santa? Yeah, that's what I thought. Doesn't your sister remember the joy of putting out cookies for Santa, and waking up in the morning and finding the presents that he brought just for her? How sad that she's robbing her children of that. Furthermore, how is it that Frosty religious and Santa isn't?
Maybe some people want to raise their children to be boring, concrete drones with no imagination, but I'm going to let my son enjoy one of the simple joys of childhood. After all, childhood is so short these days.
Happy holidays, all!
2007-11-13 02:16:42 · answer #6 · answered by SoBox 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What?! santa and frosty are both fictional...it's actually cruel to tell a child that its frosty, because they will tell all of their friends at school that frosty brings presents and the kids will just make fun of them...that also means no christmas shows, bc i am pretty sure that there are no cartoons that show frosty delivering presents. no offense to your sister, bc she seems to mean well, but that's just weird.
2007-11-13 00:57:18 · answer #7 · answered by magerk 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You can teach them anything you want, but the fact is, Santa is the icon at Christmas, and she's got to interact sometime and no one is going to go along with her little fantasy that Frosty is bringing the presents..
2007-11-13 00:54:04 · answer #8 · answered by madsmaha1 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Do you remember believing in Santa? And how much fun it would be to leave milk and cookies for him when he arrived at night? The true meaning of Christmas can be taught to a child in later years, Let your children have fun with the imaginated Christmas scenario!
2007-11-13 00:57:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
wow you guys are really thinking about that whole subject too much. santa is a cute icon created by coca cola, it is also a fantastic way of making your kids be good for the 2 months leading up to christmas. I must admit I dont get your sisters argument, if santa takes away from the true meaning so does Frosty or the tooth fairy or whoever. Its a nice fantasy for a while thats all....
2007-11-13 00:55:58 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋