More on Santa

Reader Melody is a mom who does not celebrate Santa Claus with her children. In a post from last year she gave her reasoning thus:

If you are a Christian parent, you know that every word that comes out of your mouth is a testimony to your child about the love and truth of Christ. You know from experience that your failures in virtue are soaked up into your little sponge children in the blink of an eye. You know how compromised your witness is by any uncharitable word, selfish behavior...and all deceitfulness. We know how much we abhor lies in our children and teach them to imitate Jesus who is the Way, the TRUTH, and the life. The game of pretending does indeed become a lie if it is intended to deliberately deceive for any extended period of time. When your little one looks trustingly up into your face and asks, "Mommy, is Santa really real?" and you say "Yes, He is", what acceptable justification is there for such a deception? It is likely that, someday, that same child will look at you and ask, "Mommy, is Jesus really real?" and you will say "Yes, He is." The child is asking for the truth and deserves purity in our responses. Our children need to know that we will not lie to them and must be able to trust our word in all things because we are their primary witness to love of Jesus Christ in their lives.

She gives further explanation that is worth reading, and also offers a few humorous reasons.