santa
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<<we didnt do santa (etc) at my home growing up and i really still dont get
as easily stirred up as some about the magical and mysterious! i have had a
disadvantage there i think and am sooo glad that the religion that is my own
has plenty of it to ignite those other senses besides intellectual... it is
easy to just "be practical" for me, but if that is our focus we sure miss out
on a lot... honesty is important but it is not about that. if we look
deeper than face value and literalism-- we can see that we can share the
"embodiment of" or "spirit of" without literally saying "sorry kiddos, its
all a lie!">>
<<<Actually, and in my personal experience, the opposite is true.>>>
david,
you may have misunderstood, but i was saying this from MY personal
experience, too. It did have an effect on me not to have had those sorts of
experiences.
<<<(I think you
are covering for them, thinking that since it has no such effect upon
you as an adult, it is unlikely to have such an effect on kids.)>>>
i am not sure what you are referring to here.
<<<If we can find ways to use Santa Claus in a way
which nurtures a child's natural sense of good will -- the Santa Claus
within -- then it can become very powerful indeed.>>>
this part anyway, we seem to agree on!
my point is that the magical can be quite powerful in communicating the less
tangible messages and mysteries behind what the season means to us! that st.
nick and the stories we pass down are all important parts of the vehicles in
which we share the meaning of the season.
i dont play up the untrue parts because that does lead to lying. i have
simply been able to share in ways that impart the intangibility of santa and
other things. so that as the child grows older it is a gradual "catching on"
to the spirit of the thing. (similar to the "yes, virginia" response.)
<<<Santa comes with so much baggage attached >>>
hmm, carry-on or....
erin
as easily stirred up as some about the magical and mysterious! i have had a
disadvantage there i think and am sooo glad that the religion that is my own
has plenty of it to ignite those other senses besides intellectual... it is
easy to just "be practical" for me, but if that is our focus we sure miss out
on a lot... honesty is important but it is not about that. if we look
deeper than face value and literalism-- we can see that we can share the
"embodiment of" or "spirit of" without literally saying "sorry kiddos, its
all a lie!">>
<<<Actually, and in my personal experience, the opposite is true.>>>
david,
you may have misunderstood, but i was saying this from MY personal
experience, too. It did have an effect on me not to have had those sorts of
experiences.
<<<(I think you
are covering for them, thinking that since it has no such effect upon
you as an adult, it is unlikely to have such an effect on kids.)>>>
i am not sure what you are referring to here.
<<<If we can find ways to use Santa Claus in a way
which nurtures a child's natural sense of good will -- the Santa Claus
within -- then it can become very powerful indeed.>>>
this part anyway, we seem to agree on!
my point is that the magical can be quite powerful in communicating the less
tangible messages and mysteries behind what the season means to us! that st.
nick and the stories we pass down are all important parts of the vehicles in
which we share the meaning of the season.
i dont play up the untrue parts because that does lead to lying. i have
simply been able to share in ways that impart the intangibility of santa and
other things. so that as the child grows older it is a gradual "catching on"
to the spirit of the thing. (similar to the "yes, virginia" response.)
<<<Santa comes with so much baggage attached >>>
hmm, carry-on or....
erin