Friday, December 9, 2011

Our chimney is closed!


As we ready ourselves for the holiday festivities, we pause and tread lightly on the traditions set forth by J.W. Parkinson, R.H. Macy and James Edgar. These are the historic retail giants that helped bring Santa Clause to the forefront of American culture.

Friends and strangers alike ask, “What are you doing for the holiday? I bet Brase is excited about Santa Clause.” This makes us cringe as America's Santa is excluded from our traditions. 

In our household, we celebrate the season not the singular holiday. The separate celebrations we host tell many stories but contribute to the overall big picture.  We reflect with Advent candles, understand the gift of giving through Saint Nicholas, journey with Los Posadas, celebrate Christ's birth and revisit the glory of the Epiphany with Three Kings. Along this celebratory path we reflect in the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Feast of the Holy Innocents, Feast of the Holy Family and Solemnity of Mary - Mother of God. And... let us not forget the lights of Chanukah. This is a very busy time of year.

It simply amazes me that friends and strangers assume that we are neglecting Brase by excluding The America Mall Loving Santa. The holidays are full of all kinds of traditions.  For instances... I love fruit cake but I am not cramming it down anybodies throat!

The reality is that our son gets more gifts than most kids.  We give small tokens and toys in the spirit of Christ, Saint Nicholas, The Three Kings and Chanukah.  This is part of the story telling tradition. 

Our holidays are filled with an endless series of teachable moments. We believe our gift of words will assist our son and generations that follow him. The stories we read and tell will become our strongest legacy. I might add… a legacy that will long out live a video game, remote control car or cashmere sweater.  We only get one chance at raising our child.  One chance to teach him valuable life lessons, manners and morals.

Our chimney is closed to the fat man in the red suit!  And... I believe our American life will prosper without his toys or whimsical pursuits.

1 comment:

Mark said...

You don't have to pay no mind to anyone. You're doing everything right.
Santa is just a fun thing/idea to play around with though. I'm not sure if my kids ever believed in him but we still think it's funny to talk about. And yeah, I can certainly do without the 10,000 toys.
Brase is growing beautifully.
m.