I'm Back Already XD Merry Christmas!

[TopazRaven]

Well, staying away from CAA didn't last very long did it? I'm feeling a little better and decided to come back early.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Birthday to Jesus of course! So what does every have planned for today if you don't mind me asking? Mine is fairly simple. I'm actually going to go to bed in a little bit, wake up later, my family will exchange gifts, me and my mom will bake some cookies and make dinner and then we'll all eat and watch a movie together. We're so boring. xD

Meanwhile, I've got a really random Christmas question for you guys. Is it alright to let your kids believe in Santa Claus? I've been coming across a lot of websites lately, apparently explaining the 'evils' of Santa Claus. Sorry, but I love the guy! Fictional as he is. Of course, I don't love him as much as God and Jesus, that would be pretty silly otherwise, I just feel like he is a part of Christmas. Maybe that's because I grew up believing in him when I was a child. It is true Christmas has become very commercial, but I feel like Santa Claus and Christmas is so much more then just getting gifts. As long as you teach your kids that this is Jesus' day, what is the problem? The fact you have to lie I guess? This is a question I'm definitely going to struggle with if I ever have kids. Random question ended.

Anyway happy holidays and God bless you all!

[Aedin]

I believed in Santa growing up. Didn't really mess with my like, belief in Jesus or my understanding of Christmas. I remember growing up, everyone would talk about how Halloween was satanic, so one year, I asked my family if we could do Christmas stuff on Halloween. I had a weird idea of like, counterbalancing it. I was around seven or eight at the time. Letting your kids believe in Santa, as long as it's not until they're like, in their teens or something, is probably fine.

[TopazRaven]

Lol, I believed in Santa until I was 13 and I started to get in fights about it with other kids at school. My mom had to tell me then. I was devastated. Which discourages me, but then...I remember how magical it made Christmas feel, not that it wasn't magical already because of Jesus, but I'm sure you know what I mean. Meanwhile, I might not have been paying much attention to Christanity back then, but Santa not being real never made me think God or Jesus wasn't real. I never connected the two in that manner.

[Rusty Claymore]

I always though it wasn't nice to thank some guy named santa for gifts my mom and dad got me. XD WB, Topaz!

[Falx]

When I have kids I won't be telling them Santa is real, I will however tell them that other kids do believe and not to ruin it for them.

[Atria35]

You betcha. But because I have a weakness for those trees where the salvation army writes the ages of kids and what they want on those tags, I'm going to tell them that parents and Santa work together to make Christmas with gifts happen. And then we'll take a few of those tags and make some kid's Xmas.

[TopazRaven]

You betcha. But because I have a weakness for those trees where the salvation army writes the ages of kids and what they want on those tags, I'm going to tell them that parents and Santa work together to make Christmas with gifts happen. And then we'll take a few of those tags and make some kid's Xmas.

I do that every year to! Me and my mom always pick a card off the tree. xD It feels good to get a little kid something who wouldn't get anything usually. Especially since we don't really have any kids in the family anymore. And thanks everyone, it's good to be back!

[Shao Feng-Li]

Back in the day Mom would tell us Santa's bringing presents and what not, but we all knew it was just pretend. Just tell the kids he was a real person and is part of the lore. Or scare the wits out of your kids with Santas from other countries...

[Beau Soir]

Hey, welcome back, Topaz! Glad you're feeling better.

Today, my plans are to listen to a soundtrack I got, maybe watch a movie or play video games, and then when my mom is awake (night shift last night) and my brother is home from work, we'll hang out and have Christmas dinner. We're also having over some friends of our family, because they weren't doing anything because of schedule constraints.

I don't know what it is about Santa, but like it is with Halloween, things that would normally be wrong are accepted as okay. Halloween- knocking on strangers' doors and taking candy from strangers. I mean, I don't hate it, I like Nightmare Before Christmas and everything, but the double standard thing bugs me. Because with Santa, parents let their children sit on a stranger's lap and they lie to their kids. And, like you, Topaz, when kids find out Santa isn't real, it devastates them. I don't know, I don't really want to do that to my kids if I have kids someday. My mom is big into Santa, but I wish she hadn't told me he was real, because I really believed it.
So if I ever have kids someday, I'll teach them about both Santa and Jesus- but they're going to know from the start that Santa isn't real, and that the holiday celebration is for Christ's birth... Well, if my future husband (if I marry) would agree to do so. Hopefully he would.

[TopazRaven]

Thank you! That sounds fun by the way. xD I do get where you are coming from Beau and thank you. I've personally always loved Halloween to. I literally still went trick or treating this past October. Lol. I don't know. Holidays just make me happy for some reasons and watching Christmas movies like Rudolph, Frosty, the Year Without a Santa Claus and so on always make me feel happy. Though Jesus obviously makes me happy, the difference is He makes me happy all year long instead of just on a holiday. XD Like I have said before many times, I'm a very strange Christian.

[Hiryu]

Welcome Back.

It's like believing in the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. There's nothing wrong with believing in Santa Claus... If you're a kid. Usually when you're a teenager you're either told or you figure out that he's not real. Some people do get caught up in all the presents and other bells and whistles associated with Christmas. That's where it can go wrong;"Thou shalt have no idols before me," the first of the ten commandments.

Santa Clause is the spirit of christmas, but this is also the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus(even though he was not born on Dec 25.), just like easter is the resurrection and redemption of all mankind.

[Atria35]

You know, my mom still gives me and my brother presents from Santa, even though we know it's her and both are over 18. We see it as a fun way to acknolwedge that there's a bit of magic in the holiday, so to speak.

[Furen]

Merry Christmas to you too. My parents always just used Santa as a way of giving us a gift and making us be good (or better) for the year, as long as God/Jesus is the focus point of the season, and all year in fact, there should be no reason at all to see Santa as a bad guy for Chirstian beliefs.

[Furen]

(even though he was not born on Dec 25.),

Can you for sure prove this? I can't find that ANYWHERE with factual proof. If so, thanks!

[Hiryu]

I don't remember where, but I read somewhere that scholars think that he was born in the spring, and that Dec.25 was to be celebrated as Jesus's birthday to counter a pagan festival.

This long article does offer some information on the origin of christmas: http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/christmas.asp

[Atria35]

I don't remember where, but I read somewhere that scholars think that he was born in the spring, and that Dec.25 was to be celebrated as Jesus's birthday to counter a pagan festival.

This long article does offer some information on the origin of christmas: http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/christmas.asp

Several scholars have attempted to determine His b-day, and have it all over the place, including November and March.

Putting it on Dec. 25th was definitely to counter a pagan holiday, though.