I find myself wondering if continuing to play Santa is a good idea when it comes to Orangeboy. The other day he said to me,
"I'm thinking that maybe Santa Claus is actually Jesus or God."
Well, I'm thinking this is not a good thing for him to think. Mostly because I'm not sure exactly what he means by that and also because this is the same kid who, a few months ago, wrote in a Bible at church that "God is not real and this is all a big joke!"
Whereas for many people Santa may represent the spirit of giving and God's gift to humankind, I'm afraid that Orangeboy either thinks this is just part of the whole God joke that we're playing on him, or he thinks that literally Santa is Jesus' latest gig. When he finds out that this Santa Claus thing is all an elaborate conspiracy by adults against naive little kids - then he'll really be disillusioned and not trust any of us - God, parents, Santa, other adults, etc.
I must say that I was a little surprised by his comment and didn't know what to say at the time. I had begun to assume that he and his antagonists had already figured out the whole Santa game and were now just playing along with us, their parents, for our sakes. I know Orangeboy must have his doubts about some aspects of this Jolly Ol' Elf and reindeer saga or he wouldn't be mulling it over and thus pop out with this random comment about Santa's true identity. He isn't so simple as to believe it all hook, line, and TV special sinker, but I'm worried that when he learns the truth, the whole truth, and the nothing but the Walmart electronics department truth of it all; we will discover it has been a mistake to deceive such a literal and candid child in this way.
He may not appreciate that the REAL magic of Christmas is that Mom can manage to get some extra childfree shopping time in and that she actually makes plans and lists ahead of time and gets it all done, wrapped, and ready by the deadline of Christmas Eve - and she's not crying under the Christmas tree. That's the TRUE miracle of Christmas!
Maybe I can let him in on the conspiracy and tell him that he must not tell his siblings because they don't know. That would, of course, be another lie...
Oh the things we do for our children and in the name of religion!
The sad thing is, Orangeboy may be right on the money.
ReplyDeleteSanta (I choose to believe) is St Nicholas who is one of God's saints. And the St Nicholas, like many of the other saints, has been morphed like you wouldn't believe.
Maman and Papa, for instance, didn't know that he came from Turkey (Myra is the place). They thought he was from the Netherlands.
December 25 would be no more magical than other days if someone didn't observe that it was the winter/summer solstice, or around there.
I shared this with my oldest (she's 19 now) and she has much in common with Orangeboy. She laughed and then got very serious and told me that she was definitely relieved that Santa was NOT stalking her all year and breaking into her house (even if he was leaving her gifts)! She said her relief overpowered her disappointment.
ReplyDeleteMy middle (17 now), who is very much not like Orangeboy, loved the fact that all of the adults in her life conspired for some Christmas magic, even if it was a lie.
And we are still doing the dance with the 7 year old. I'm pretty certain she knows (she was born a cynic), but is willing to sort of pretend because she does enjoy the gift end of it.
Merry Christmas!