Spreading the Good News like a complete nimrod...
I present you this utter wankpuffin...
https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/charity-workers-bombshell-for-primary-school-kids-as-she-says-santa-doesnt-exist-9056324/
https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/charity-workers-bombshell-for-primary-school-kids-as-she-says-santa-doesnt-exist-9056324/
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Silly thing is, you can go into school (as I've done twice this week) and do an Advent assembly without mentioning Santa at all, if you so wish.
“We want to appoint a pioneer children’s minister to help develop the range of ministries presently provided by volunteers across our Deanery, as well as pioneer new initiatives that help reach children in our communities. Our aim is to bring the gospel message to the next generation. If you are passionate about local community and seeing children and families come to know Christ, and grow in faith, then we would love to hear from you.”
No mention of Santa bashing there 🙄🙄
But seriously, it is this kind of person who is likely to have all faith-based personnel kept out of schools. We are only there at the headteacher's invitation (at least in Scotland). A school not far from here had a problem when a misguided Scripture Union worker got the leader of a fly-by-night evangelical church (gone now) permission to go into the primary school. Said guy refused to even look at the guidelines, (which is when the visit should have been pulled by the SU worker) and when the guy had been completely inappropriate no other Minister was allowed in for over a year.
I think many of us who minister want to make people think by putting a firecracker under the soppy and romanticised views of the Christmas story - but this wasn't the way to do it in that context. Conversely it might have worked quite well in a church teen youth group, but not a family carol service. (I also knew a High Church Curate who gave a totally inappropriate Easter Assembly in an Infants' School (CofE), by massively over-emphasising Jesus' pain and suffering. The Head Teacher had something to say to the Rector afterwards!)
The whole Santa thing is, of course, as @Cathscats says, an opportunity to mention that queer little chap who seems to awkwardly butt his way into Christ(or X)mas round about this time of winterfest.
(BTW, I hope @KarlLB is not claiming patent rights or whatever to that wonderful word 'wankpuffin').
Also it was almost literally a violent act of iconoclasm, at least as far as the kiddiwinks were concerned - or a new Puritanism (where is William Dowsing when you need him?)
Except it's so much the norm that young children believe in Father Christmas and so much a thing generally understood that you do not go around doing this; figuring it out is a right of passage, pretty much that it marks you out as an utter pillock if you do.
Indeed. If one were to make them smash up little statues of Postman Pat, I don't think that would be excusable on the grounds that Postman Pat doesn't exist.
TBH it being a faith school might have explained what this individual was even doing there.
Although he now has mythical status, is imbued with magical properties and has acquired the red and white colours from a Coca-Cola advertising campaign to create the Santa Claus we now know.
Schools do that already
Which schools? None I've ever taught in. You'll get some teachers who say, when asked, that they don't believe in God, just as others (like me) would say they do.
Icons of St Nicholas always have him in red and white.
I don't understand why it is acceptable to lie to children.
That said, the situation in the OP probably wasn't the time or place.
Irrespective of what you are trying to teach about, that is not the way to get anyone to accept what you say.
We didn't particulary encourage Santa when our kids were growing up, but had no real problem with him. I know parents who did, but not in a way that they would tell other children he wasn't real. I think he is a harmless story we can tell, to help introduce children to stories, and why we do things, and what is real.
Well, I dunno. If a politician goes on the radio and says "Anyone who believes in this government's economic predictions might as well believe in Santa Claus as well, because they're both myths", is he guilty of ruining the rite-of-passage for children? Because chances are pretty good that some kids who believe in Santa might hear that.
Or would hearing that be PART of the rite-of-passage, whereas directly stating it to children ruins the rite-of-passage?
And even in a secular school, if it's supposed to be doing any RE at all, and one of the religions they are covering is Christianity, it's quite an important message that Father Christmas, reindeer, holly, decorated trees, etc have no more to do with Christianity or Christmas than a rabbit has with Easter.
Perhaps a new holiday tradition?
AFF
Which message is fine and potentially age-appropriate. "Santa doesn't exist" is not, not in our cultural milieu.
I wonder if the people saying they can't see the problem with this have ever even seen a child.
No mention of what color they were.
What are you talking about? Santa doesn't exist. It's a story.
Maybe this thread should contain a spoiler-warning in the title, in case anyone leaves it up on their computer when the kids are around?
I don't think other European cultures really have the cult of Santa as much as the English-speaking world. Kids believe he is a real figure who comes to give them presents.
As I said before, most kids understand the difference between reality and fantasy, but in this case adults tell children that Santa actually exists as a real being in the here and now.
'What about the sanity clause?'
'There ain't no such thing as Sanity Clause!'
Yeah, I know, but 4 year olds generally don't and it's hardly culturally appropriate to go around telling them so. It just isn't done.
Why isn't it? I've had small children, I saw no need to actively tell them lies.
What's wrong with saying to them "this is a nice story about Christmas.."?
I think this is much more of a problem. One of my kids started asking me questions when they were very young (I think because we made a point of not talking about Santa when everyone else was) so we said it was a story that lots of people liked. And then it was tough to persuade them to not try to persuade other children that it wasn't real.
IMO, anyone who doesn't get why the Jolly Old Elf is a thing for kids or why slapping them in the face with the "truth" is wrong just doesn't comprehend children.
I checked on this, then checked the book I read to the kids each year.
You are right, the original is dressed all in fur, but the book I read had dressed all in RED.
Children's publishers, why did you lie to me? [/sarcasm]
Yes, you're right - I've often said that everyone can remember being a child, but many seem to forget how being a child felt
I miss how Christmas felt as a child still now.