I have read a few articles saying that kids of today are not getting the real meaning of Christmas — that they only care about material things and Saint Nicholas, or more popularly known as Santa Claus. I was not convinced.
So, Tuesday morning, during my computer class, I asked my grade 2 students to write in their notebook what Christmas means to them. I required them at least 2 sentences.
When they were done, I collected and read all the 25 notebooks. I was surprised by their answers: none of them wrote about Santa Claus. Zero.
As a matter of fact, Baby Jesus was their main answer, followed by these keywords: Love, Sharing, Caring, Family. (in random order)
Sure there are a few students who also answered “time for fun“, “getting presents” and the like. That’s part of the tradition.
These kids are 7ish-8ish years old. They are at the tender age of innocence and will believe almost anything a trustworthy adult would say. So I wondered: How come Santa Claus was left off? Do they “already” have an idea who Santa Claus really is?
My curiosity didn’t end there. The following day, I had the 1st graders, so I took the chance and interviewed random students by asking the same question: “What does Christmas mean to you?”
The answers were basically the same as the previous grade. This time, however, a couple of students finally mentioned the name Santa Claus. Still, it’s just a blip on the radar. And I felt good they are not materially obsessed.
I just had to laugh at some articles that blame the changing times if kids associate Christmas with material things. The point is, we want kids to realize the true meaning of Christmas, but it is us - the grown-ups - who color Christmas with money and attach Santa Claus to material things. The kids are just the reflection of us.
And then we write or talk about how kids today don’t get it.
Maybe we need to look at ourselves at the mirror and ask why.
Bring the kids to church; learn who Saint Nicholas really is and teach the kids why he - as Santa Claus - is a great symbol for this season; give something to the less fortunate without asking for return. These are some of the practical things we can do to teach them the real meaning of Christmas.
I watched my students play in the computer. And I thought: Christmas spirit isn’t really lost yet, but it depends on me and you.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Email This Post
Print This Post
You certainly surprise me with this. I would have thought most children at that age would think Santa was God or Jesus. I was very glad to read this. Merry Christmas.
Very interesting results there! I can tell though you have never encountered my 16-year-old stepgranddaughter! But then, she was not brought up by her dad and previous stepmother -or her biological mother - to have any knowledge, understanding really of what Christmas is about -other than just presents and Santa Claus. She is getting a bit better about that aspect as she matures but its going to be a long hard haul.
Maya right now is too little to understand either concept - just recognizes Santa by picture but doesn’t know the meaning yet. Hopefully by next Christmas, she will be that much more comprehending though.
But I do think you are on target in that all too often parents take the tact that they want their child to have all and more than they had. Well, I want that for my kids and grandkids too but the thing of it is, what I had at Christmas that always made it so special was the family, love, sharing, Christmas church services, programs at Sunday School and even at school too. Yes, there were presents but not in abundance -it was having my aunts/uncles, grandparents, cousins - all around me that I wanted to emphasize for my kids and now, for them and my grandchildren too. Togetherness, peace, harmony.
I think Christmas has become one of the most blasphemous and commercially-driven holidays ever. I never celebrated Christmas anyway because of my religious background, but even if not for that, I am sure I wouldn’t be excited to celebrate the holiday and I would be hard pressed to raise my children to believe in the holiday.
My saying this is not a knock on anyone that celebrates Christmas because I believe that some celebrate Christmas for what it is really for. Overall, I am just disgusted how Jesus’ birth becomes commercially viable for multi-billion dollar corporations.
I do wish everyone here a safe and enjoyable holiday season.
MARCUS LANGFORD
An excellent post. I’m happy to present it as part of the Happy New Year’s Carnival of Family Life which I am hosting 12/31/07 at Mixed Metaphor.net! Hope you’ll drop by the party and join in the festivities — we have many wonderful entries this week!
My daughter at 4 is introduced to Santa only this Christmas. She got a gift from “Santa” but I signed it and read it to her: Thanks for celebrating my birthday.From Jesus via Santa.
All these years, I never introduced her to Santa because I don’t want her to make the imaginary gift giver to be the center of our Christmas.
This was a good read.
Yes, children do mimic their parents more than we like to admit, but your post is very encouraging. I think more than anything, children want to spend time with their parents. When I think of Christmas I think of the family traditions that brought us all together.
@Jenn - Thanks for including this post to your carnival. I’ll submit again if my post is relevant.
@Mom in Training - Wow, nice idea! I’ll remember that and will make sure to do the same thing. Thanks for sharing!
@Renae - Thanks for the kind words. And I agree with you about togetherness. I visited your blog, by the way. How was your new year?