The True Meaning of Christmas

Parents in Sante Fe Springs were in an uproar, reports Tracy Garcia of Whittier Daily News, when

...the Rev. Ruben Rocha repeatedly told the students in grades kindergarten through third that there is no Santa Claus.

“There’s a time and place for everything, and this was not the time or the place or the age group to be talking about the true meaning of Christmas, at least in terms that young children cannot understand", said Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Now wait a minute. This is a Catholic school and the service was being held during school hours, for students. What other time and place seems more appropriate to discuss the true meaning of Christmas?

“I believe they’ve taken some of the innocence out of her childhood, and I’m very upset,” said parent Rick Martin, whose daughter attends kindergarten.

Explain to me how innocence is removed when we replace fantasy with Truth.

Maybe you think its better for you, the parent, to keep on lying to her for a few more years. Then, when her classmates find out she still believes in Santa, they can ridicule her and make fun of her. That way, she can come home in tears, traumatized at the hands of her "friends".
Oh yes, that's a much better option. Coward parents.

“Now my daughter doesn’t believe in Santa Claus. She sees him, and she knows it’s a costume. What happens when we go to the mall this year? It’ll just be a costume to her,” Martin added. “I’ve just been let down by this whole deal.”

And the harm in her not believing a lie is what? The reality is that it IS just a costume Ricky!

(An interesting side note: Did you notice there is only ONE parent quoted here as complaining? If there was so much outrage, where's all the other parents?)

Children are resilient. As a parent, I've found the truth always works better than some made up nonsense to "preserve their innocence".
Children can carry the Truth with them for the rest of their lives.
It will make them stronger, better people.

(Originally found this story over at Crispy's...couldn't pass it up.)