How long did you believe in Santa Claus?

[Kristie]

game of telephone? not sure i've heard that one before (kidding!)...I always thought what my girlfriends were telling me was true! he really did have a big.......



car hehe

[kimlantse]

Originally Posted by spotty4

In places like China or Japan or Indonesia, I bet Christmas is but a passing glance.
Maybe our Hong Kong girls can enlighten us ...

Although Hong Kong has a very large Christian community, you're right, Christmas isn't really that big a deal here. Sure, bright colourful lights (yes, even MORE of them!!) get strung up around parks and buildings, decorated Christmas trees here and there, but these are all around shopping malls and public areas. I think in the average family home, there isn't a lot going on. Chinese New Year and the mid-autumn Moon Cake Festival are MUCH bigger holidays celebrated in HK. It doesn't help that it never gets cold enough to really feel like Christmas, the way I'm used to back in Scotland!

My DH made a recent trip to Frankfurt and blew all of his per diems on the Christmas Markets! He brought home all sorts of real traditional German decorations. So our home is looking and smelling very Christmassy now (but still no tree).

My father was an atheist and my mother is a Christian but she has never pressed her beliefs on us. I believed in Santa Claus until I was about 7. At this time, I attended Chinese school on Saturdays too. In the morning it was Chinese class and in the afternoon it was Bible class. But if you wanted your child to attend the school, they had to go to both classes. It was during Bible class that the teacher told us "Jesus is real and Santa isn't". I remember feeling terribly upset about this, and now that I am older, I feel anger towards this person. She had absolutely no right to do that. She had no clue what the beliefs were of each individual family of these kids. We were only there in Bible class because we were forced to go!!

Personally, I am not a religious person at all, but I do believe that a very nice person called Jesus Christ was born and existed at some point, a very long time ago. I don't think that can be doubted. My point is, I don't think you have to be Christian to celebrate Christmas... Christians also celebrate other religious holidays. Like over here, everyone joins in the Moon Cake Festival, celebrating the Moon Goddess and the Jade Hare on the moon...

[Bigsweetie]

I stopped believing in Santa when I was 5 years old. I just sort of "figured it out" so to speak. We didn't have a chimney and our front door squeaked like crazy, so I knew it had to be my mom because I would have heard Santa come in. LOL!

I grappled with whether or not to do the "Santa thing" with Emily. And then it dawned on me...

Santa is a good way for children to learn to believe in something they can't see (like God). That they believe in something greater than themselves even when their friends may not anymore. It's an easier concept for a child to understand at a young age IMO. Now, of course, they can "see" Santa at the mall, in parades, etc. but I plan on telling her those are Santa's helpers LOL!

Even when I was little, Santa was always something "mystical", someone with a lot of mystery around him. Some kids believed, others didn't (just like religion). And believing in something even when your friends don't is good practice (so to speak) for believing in God.

I don't know, maybe i'm way off base... it's just how we choose to see it, I guess.

Now, I do worry about how she'll take it when she does find out Santa isn't "real" but so far I don't know too many kids who've become athiest because they found out about Santa LOL!

[AnneCaitlin]

I grew up splitting my time during the holidays between California and Minnesota (divorced parents), and was always very concerned that Santa would not be able to locate me if I was in California visiting my dad. I would have my mom write detailed letters telling him where I would be for Christmas that year, which we would send up the chimney. However, I got the hunch that Santa wasn't real when he got me the wrong present for Christmas. (of course, at 6 years old I didn't know the right name for it--"Barky Puppy" wasn't a very good descriptor).

[flygirl813126]

I found out when my mom miswrapped a present. I had saved up my allowance to buy my brother a present with my own money. She hid the present for me. On Christmas day my brother opened the present, which had a tag from Santa on it. I was plenty old enough to not believe in Santa anymore, but it was a shocking way to find out.