Make Me Smile Monday

Last year the kids watched Elf with Jason and I for the first time. They thought it was hilarious and talked about it for days. I heard about Buddy's giant burp for days from my little man. So last weekend when we were walking home from the Santa Claus parade and Jason and I asked what movie the kids wanted to watch when we got home it was not a surprise to hear a quick and unanimous "Elf!". So, Elf it was! It's such a fun movie. As you may already know, our children have always known Santa isn't real, but we have fun as a family using our imaginations and making him a part of our celebrations anyways. This movie is one of my personal favourites and it's fun to share that with them. Besides, there's nothing like the sound of my children laughing and of course it's a lot of fun to snuggle up with some hot chocolate and laugh together.

This past week, I found it pretty cute to discover J thinks it's called "the Elf". :) What is it about kids and the way they talk? The way they word or pronounce certain things can crack you up or melt your heart. One of the simple joys of life!

I hope you too are having fun making memories with your family this holiday season!

Santa Claus and Egg-Nog

So, now after sharing my thoughts on celebrating Christmas, I thought it would be fun to share what role Santa plays in our lives.

When Sarah was 2 years old I deliberated about what to tell her about Santa. I had such a hard time telling her he's real because - well - he isn't! At the same time I worried that it might steal some of the excitement and joy from the season if we didn't. I wasn't sure what to do. In the end Jason and I decided to tell her the truth - that Santa's not real. To us this never meant boycotting Santa, we just simply hoped to avoid the potential heartbreak of eventually discovering the truth. It was a question of do we tell her now or later? It's been interesting to see how things have developed since then.

***As a side note: we've made sure to be very clear that this is something children need to find out from their parents - not their friends - so they know not to "break the news" to anyone.

One thing I've been happy to see is that much the way kids love princess movies and superheroes (all the while knowing they're pretend) our kids have enjoyed a lot of excitement over Santa. We go visit him every year down town where he sets himself up in front of the post office. They are more than willing to tell Santa what they would like for Christmas. Every Christmas Eve, we set out homemade chocolate chip cookies and egg-nog for Santa (did you know Santa loves egg-nog?) to eat when he fills the stockings. They know that it's really their daddy who eats and drinks the snack, and giggle with excitement each Christmas morning when they run down stairs to make sure he really came. Children have such great imaginations!

This is the second year I've ordered gifts through World Vision (Agriculture Packs, Hygiene Kit and Literacy for Children) to go in the kids stockings and I plan on making this an annual tradition. I love the fact that we can talk openly with our children about these children who are in need without wondering why Santa doesn't have it covered.

I've also noticed that knowing he's not real has allowed them to focus more on giving to the rest of the family and appreciate what's been given to them, knowing that someone who loves them picked it out with great thought and care.

Anyways, that's what we do at our house. I'd love to hear what you do at yours!!! :)

Is Christmas a pagan holiday?

Have you heard the news that Jesus wasn't born on December the 25th? And that Christmas is really just a pagan holiday? I keep hearing this come up different places and find it interesting, because for the most part I'm hearing it from people who don't celebrate the birth of Christ. The message being sent is loud and clear: there are those who feel Christ shouldn't be made a part of Christmas.

My learned response is simply to allow myself the question: Should I stop celebrating Christ's birth at Christmas because he wasn't born December 25th?

There's nothing magical about December 25th and there would be nothing magical about the day of the year Jesus was actually born on - if scholars could actually find a way to pinpoint the day and not just the time of year. It feels a little bit like someone telling me that celebrating my daughters birthday a few weeks early is not a valid time to celebrate. Last year a few of her friends weren't able to make it because they were having Christmas get-togethers with their extended families. So this year we moved the party back a few weeks and avoided that same problem. It's not about the day, it's about the life! And for Chistians celebrating Christs birth it's even more importantly about the reason he came. The focus shouldn't be put on the date itself but on the celebration; especially if being concerned about it causes us to give up entirely on the celebration!

Christmas has been celebrated in December for hundreds of years (and along with that the birth of Christ). Christmas is such a huge part of our North American culture. And although each family is different with their own unique traditions most families at least have some. These kinds of family traditions are fun, healthy and help build security in our children (by letting them know we have long term - as in life long - plans of being together as a family).

If tradition isn't enough of a reason on it's own, consider once again my daughter's early birthday party. This was the first time we'd ever planned it a few weeks early and yet all parents and children involved were very understanding. They recognized the need for being practical. In the same way, it makes a lot of sense to keep it at a time when our children have a school break for the holidays and most of us get at least some time off work.  

Winter Solstice was a pagan celebration filled with pagan traditions and superstitions. People were putting their faith in something other than Jesus Christ. (We all put our faith in something.) Somewhere along the line when Winter Solstice was such a prominent part of the culture, somebody decided it would be a great time for Christians to celebrate the birth of Christ. It became a new reason to celebrate for those who didn't "share the faith" of those celebrating winter solstice. How great is that? And now in North America, at the "darkest" time of the year we take time to celebrate the birth of Christ, give to the people we love and spend time with our families.

A few weeks ago I saw a "discussion" beneath a public figure's status update. This person was sharing their frustration towards people who use the term "Happy Holidays". I was amazed at the anger shared by so many people who agreed, insisting that Christmas "always has and always will be about Jesus". As much as I respect the individual who posted the orginal remark, I couldn't disagree more! Christmas isn't about Jesus for everyone. For some it's about getting together with family, Santa, and presents. If they don't share our faith why would we expect them to make it about Jesus at Christmas time? I think it's naive and potentially even destructive to think that way. It builds an us versus them mentality.

I don't think we need to shy away from celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmas but we do need to be careful in our attitude towards others when we do. Jesus came for everyone. He came for people of every race and every faith. I don't think we're making that clear to anyone by insisting that everyone should be celebrating Christmas like we do, getting angry at people for saying Happy Holidays or by pretending other religions don't exist.

What if we start allowing our belief - that God is love and he's filled us with his love - to transform our everyday lives including the way we celebrate Christmas and the way we think and deal with others? Maybe that will be the thing that causes people to believe that the birth of a child thousands of years ago truly is worth the celebration!