Merry Christmas, 'Tis the season to be jolly, Happy Holidays, greeting that welcome in my favorite time of year. The Christmas season brings back many fond memories of my childhood and my family. It also reminds me of the sweet times Brenda and I have shared with our children as they grew up. Like many of you that take the time to read the thoughts I put into words, you have many great memories of a childhood where you came from a loving family. Memories can be a wonderful thing, but also very hurtful as we relive in our minds things from our past. Our minds are like the little chip that is buried deep within the Mother Board of our computer. It stores data that we want to keep and is available at a moments notice when we desire to recall it. The only way to delete the information is to actually destroy the inner contents of the machine, thus forever deleting the information. As I grow into the next faze of my life, I find myself reliving memories from the past, memories that make me happy, sad, and even anxious. Things that have happened, should not have happened, and then things that could have happened.
The world today, as we know it, has really changed. We have all the heard the philosophy that, the only thing constant in the world is change, and I agree, we are all constantly evolving and changing. Without change we would still be using the outhouse, window fans would be our means of cooling, and I would not have Sirius/XM radio in my truck, so some change are good. On the other hand I could write many pages of things that have changed, things that are hurting us as a people not only in this country but in the world too. Is change really so necessary that it disrupts the way we think, raise our children, and live in a free society? Now before you get ahead of me and come to the conclusion that I am against change in every aspect of life, slow down, get another cup of coffee and come back to finish this article. Change is a good thing when it is beneficial and life changing. Change is good when it can make a difference in someone's life, medically or technologically. Change is good when it makes things BETTER!
Recently I read an article, blog, a piece of literature that was written by someone concerning the issue of Santa Claus in the Christmas season. The piece went into detail about how they could not bring themselves to allow their children to believe in the old fat man that wears a red suit. The man that has a smile that excites children and even grown ups as he laughs and bellows his "HO-HO-HO Merry Christmas each year at this time. I do not want to take away anything from the season we celebrate as the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love the songs, the candlelight services and the happiness we find in the celebration of the season. One of my favorite songs is "Mary did you Know" which I feel says it all about Christmas and the birth. However it concerns me that some have become so insensitive as to quell the love that comes with the Santa Claus story. I decided to do some researching on ole St. Nick and would like to share with you a synopsis of my search.
The true story of Santa Claus begins in the third century in the little Greek village of Patara.
Nicholas was born to a devout wealthy Catholic family, his parents died while he was very
young leaving him a substantial inheritance. Dedicating his life to serving God, Nicholas
decided to assist the needy, sick, and suffering according to the word of Jesus, "sell what
you own and give the money to the pure." He soon became known for his generosity to
those in need. He had a love for children and a concern for sailors and ships. When
Nicholas would learn of someone in need, he would secretly go out at night and drop a
bag of gold coins through the window. Nicholas died in Myra. The
anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, December 6, December 19 on the
Julian calendar. St. Nicholas was given the title as the patron and protector of children.
Santa Claus is not a myth, it is a story of a man concerned about his fellow man and definitely has it's place not only the Christmas season, but throughout the entire year. We tell our children that Christmas is about giving not just receiving, well St. Nick was a giver and a beloved giver at that. I heard and believed in Santa till I could no longer get away with it. My children believed the same as well and guess what, I turned out ok, they turned out ok and no one was hated or mistrusted because of it. We taught that the Christmas season was the celebration of the birth of Christ, but Santa Claus had his place there as well. Our family are believing Christians, we attend church, we believe in the holy trinity and we also believe that doing good to your fellow man is of God. I have not had one conversation with my grown children where I was told I had lied or misled them about Santa as they were growing up. Neither has either one told me they has lost trust in me or hated me for telling them this. My children are carrying on the tradition they inherited from their Mother and me that we inherited from our parents and so on and so on. It breaks my heart to have children, who are told by their parents that Santa is not real come up to other children who believe and throw up the notion that they are wrong, that Santa is really their parents. Come on people get a grip. If you are teaching your children the correct concept of the Christmas season, the memories they will cherish will be with them for generations. Santa Claus is real and lives in the hearts of the young and innocent. If you don't believe me watch the eyes of the children as the jolly old fat man in the red suit takes his seat at the local mall. Santa is real and I believe!
Now I must go, I have just about completed my Christmas list and must get it in the mail to the North Pole before the mail deadline.
Life Happens
No comments:
Post a Comment