midwinter solstice celebrations

[ebwy2]

Why do people feel it's their place to tell me to tell lies to my child? We're pagan, we don't do Christmas! we celebrate the midwinter solstice, which is where a lot of the Christmas traditions originated.

Apparently, by "not letting him have Santa" I'm "taking away the magic of Christmas" - is it just me or are the people nagging about that not getting the point?

I'm not an hypocrite, I will not raise him believing in only the fun bits of someone else's religion.
I'm not cruel, no more than all the jewish parents, muslims, Jehovah's witnesses, and all the other religions in the world, nor the Christians who chose to celebrate their festival without tales of strangers down chimneys... No one nags about not letting him have a Day of Pentecost celebration, nor about him not aknowledging hannukah... but somehow people seem to think I'm cruel to my child for trying to raise him with a little integrity when it comes to winter festivals :-s

he's not even 2 yet and I'm already sick of this nagging every winter! (it started long before he was born)

If you are one of the people who believes I'm cruel for this, would you be rude enough to tell me so? I've had strangers ask "what's santa bringing for the little one?" so I just say "we don't celebrate Christmas, but for our winter festival we'll be giving him..." but then I'm told I MUST let him have Santa... how rude! I don't tell them they MUST NOT tell their children about whatever the heck they like!


(I apologise for the lack of some capital letters, my laptop is slowly breaking and several letters have to be c&ped in)

 

[dadsdeercamp]

Raise your child your way.Who cares what others say or think.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

I didn't tell my kids about santa either. Its a free country.
Besides santa didn't work hard to earn money to buy them the presents.... we did! We do a christmas tree because the kids love it! They get to sleep in their sleeping bags by the christmas tree every Friday night the month of December... to fun to listen to them giggle and have fun. Its the best time of year I think.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The whole Santa Claus notion is much more a modern figure of the New Yorker magazine of some such. It has Zero to do with Christmas from a Christian perspective. There are a tiny bit of St Nicklaus, a true historical, Christian figure, in the legend, but very, very little. Even as Christians, we never bothered with Santa Claus and saw no reason, no purpose in the social construct of it whatsoever.

So, you're no alone. Not at all. Cruel? Hardly.

 

[Stephanie739]

aw hello from one "scrooge" to another. Someone asked me the other day if I was ready for Christmas. I cringed inside, and proceeded to tell her just about what you posted. I did add that Santa isn't very nice to the poor kids. What IS the true meaning of Christmas? Who can get inside the store first at 3am to save a few dollars (with or without trampling upon others!) or who gets their kids the latest and most sought after toy this year....humbug...and like you said, Christmas has its roots in paganism. Its not even a Christian holiday. I'll get my kids a gift or two because I love them, just like I get them gifts throughout the year when I can because I love them. No Santa, no tree, no frantic holidy bs. Well maybe I will let them decorate the artificial tree in the attic, if they want to.....because I love them. Happy holidays!

 

[WriterofWords]

As long as you are not depriving someone else's child of their beliefs you can raise your child however you want to. I see it a lot in the classroom when one family believes one way and does not want representations of something not of their belief displayed in the classroom and it's 1 out 25; then it is a problem. You have your beliefs, and it is your right to exercise those beliefs in your own home however you want to and it's no one's business but yours. Like Fred's Hen's said, it's not about St. Nicholas anymore anyway, it's how much money retailers can make on that day.

 

[NYboy]

Nope not cruel. No one but you should have a say in how you raise your child.

 

[TinyChickenLady]

I actually like the idea of being a bit more honest with children. The only stipulation I would put on how you're raising your child is to be sure and teach him to be respectful of the beliefs of others just as we would show respect for yours.
I would tell him "No, there is no Santa but some children think there is and I don't want you to tell them otherwise. That's their parents' jobs."
In my family, when a child reached the right age to start asking questions, we were told the truth but also told not to spoil it for the younger ones because they still believe and enjoy it.
I don't think it's right ot lie to children so I fully endorse what you're doing. But I also wouldn't want him to burst the bubbles of the kids who DO believe.
To sum it up...

Awesome parenting! Kudos to you and yours

 

[Duramaxgirl]

Quote:
The retailers don't make much money off of me. I usually buy used toys off of ebay. And never very much because DH gets mad if I spend a lot... Last year DH made a wooden barn for the girl's toy horses and it was free! They loved it!

 

[chicmom]

Well, if there was only something a person could wear, like a name tag or a badge that listed their personal choice regarding the holidays! Wouldn't that be perfect?

Maybe y'all could get matching winter coats or jackets or hats that said, "I'm Pagan, so we celebrate the Winter Solstace!" Or just a big picture of a Santa Clause inside a circle with a big slash through it!!!!

Santa Clause really doesn't have anything to do with Christmas. It's just fun for the kids.....He's a whimsical fairytale, really, in my personal opinion. The decorations, the cartoons and movies, the music......it all doesn't revolve around Santa, but it's kind of fun.

Now, do I believe you are a cruel person? Absolutely not. Maybe you are confrontational though. Why not just "let it go" during the holidays if you are wished a Merry Christmas. After all, it's always said with good intentions and a good heart. Your religion is your business and you don't have to explain that to anybody.

Maybe explain to the kids that there are many different ways people celebrate the holidays, and our family does the Winter Solstace. Others celebrate Christmas or Haunnika (so sorry for the spelling). It's culture, and different cultures are very interesting.....

I always say Happy Holidays to strangers, because I don't know their beliefs. That's always safe to say.