I recently took my kids to see "Rise of the Guardians." I loved it. I loved it so much that I bought the DVD for my son for his birthday. Last Sunday, it was cold and rainy, so after church we sat down as a family and watched it. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's a story about Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Mr Sandman, and Jack Frost fighting the Boogeyman for the hearts and minds of children.
As I was watching the movie, I realized that my antennae were up, because two very important Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter (represented by Santa and the Easter Bunny) were being talked about. There was no mention of Jesus, either at Christmas or Easter. There was a veiled reference when the Easter Bunny says, "Easter is about new life, new beginnings. It's about hope," but that's about it.
I've been as ticked off as anyone about the secularization of Christmas and Easter, and I have probably been guilty of going too far off the deep end in criticizing what those holidays have become. However, as I watched Rise of the Guardians, I realized something.
Santa and the Easter Bunny are fun. LOTS of fun. When I was a kid, I loved Santa and the Easter Bunny. I thought they were fabulous.
Now that I am a grown man, and have grown much deeper in my faith, I STILL think they are fabulous. I think they are a lot of fun. Does the presence of Santa or the Easter Bunny diminish the sacredness of those two days, or diminish my respect and admiration for my Lord and Savior? Not in the slightest.
As a matter of fact, I think just the opposite happens.
I remember my grandmother telling me something long ago when I was a boy who had just found out from friends that Santa wasn't real. She looked at me and said, "Well, I believe in him. He's so very good. He's someone who finds ultimate joy in giving gifts to others and demands nothing for himself. The world could use a few more people like him."
Many times in a society, values are communicated to our children by fictitious characters that embody the values we want to pass on. Paul Bunyon was created as a celebration of the work ethic and pioneering spirit of the American frontier. John Henry was invented as a celebration of the indominitable heart of man versus machine. Santa Claus was invented as a celebration of the spirit of giving, love, and selflessness. The Easter Bunny was invented for the same reason- to celebrate the value of giving and blessing others with no thought of compensation or gain. These are values essential to a society.
They are also a lot of fun. Tons of fun. They bring joy, laughter, wonder, and brightness to a very dreary, drama-filled world.
I have realized something within me by watching Rise of the Guardians. You know what it is? Sometimes I'm no fun at all.
I think it happens to all of us as adults. We get so concerned and frustrated and angry when we sense that the sacred is being stripped from our society. We get so depressed when we see our culture moving away from what is right and true. That's legitimate. However, that doesn't give us license to stop being fun.
I am as concerned about doctrinal purity as anyone, but in my quest for that purity, sometimes I allow any sense of fun, joy, wonder, and simple silliness to go out the door. When that happens, we stop being fun.
Santa and the Easter Bunny are about as fun as it gets. Seriously.
This is exactly the point of the movie. When children stop believing in the Easter Bunny and Santa and all the other fun things in this life, they are left believing in fear and despair. When belief in the good things and good values leaves a society, belief in the evil and dark things replaces it. Our beliefs determine our outlook, our attitude, our amount of joy, our amount of despair, and just about everything else about us.
Maybe some of us Christians need to allow a little bit more fun in our lives.
Like I said before, does the absurd and joyful belief in Santa and the Easter Bunny diminish what Christmas and Easter are truly about? If you let it, sure. For me, however, it doesn't. I stand amazed at the birth of the Son of God and His Resurrection. Santa and the Easter Bunny? They're just a lot of fun. A whole lot of fun. I smile as I write this, because Easter is just around the corner. I'm looking forward to Easter egg hunts and stealing candy from my kids' Easter baskets, also known as parent tax.
He is risen, risen indeed! Now put the antennae down and go enjoy the fun.
As I was watching the movie, I realized that my antennae were up, because two very important Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter (represented by Santa and the Easter Bunny) were being talked about. There was no mention of Jesus, either at Christmas or Easter. There was a veiled reference when the Easter Bunny says, "Easter is about new life, new beginnings. It's about hope," but that's about it.
I've been as ticked off as anyone about the secularization of Christmas and Easter, and I have probably been guilty of going too far off the deep end in criticizing what those holidays have become. However, as I watched Rise of the Guardians, I realized something.
Santa and the Easter Bunny are fun. LOTS of fun. When I was a kid, I loved Santa and the Easter Bunny. I thought they were fabulous.
Now that I am a grown man, and have grown much deeper in my faith, I STILL think they are fabulous. I think they are a lot of fun. Does the presence of Santa or the Easter Bunny diminish the sacredness of those two days, or diminish my respect and admiration for my Lord and Savior? Not in the slightest.
As a matter of fact, I think just the opposite happens.
I remember my grandmother telling me something long ago when I was a boy who had just found out from friends that Santa wasn't real. She looked at me and said, "Well, I believe in him. He's so very good. He's someone who finds ultimate joy in giving gifts to others and demands nothing for himself. The world could use a few more people like him."
Many times in a society, values are communicated to our children by fictitious characters that embody the values we want to pass on. Paul Bunyon was created as a celebration of the work ethic and pioneering spirit of the American frontier. John Henry was invented as a celebration of the indominitable heart of man versus machine. Santa Claus was invented as a celebration of the spirit of giving, love, and selflessness. The Easter Bunny was invented for the same reason- to celebrate the value of giving and blessing others with no thought of compensation or gain. These are values essential to a society.
They are also a lot of fun. Tons of fun. They bring joy, laughter, wonder, and brightness to a very dreary, drama-filled world.
I have realized something within me by watching Rise of the Guardians. You know what it is? Sometimes I'm no fun at all.
I think it happens to all of us as adults. We get so concerned and frustrated and angry when we sense that the sacred is being stripped from our society. We get so depressed when we see our culture moving away from what is right and true. That's legitimate. However, that doesn't give us license to stop being fun.
I am as concerned about doctrinal purity as anyone, but in my quest for that purity, sometimes I allow any sense of fun, joy, wonder, and simple silliness to go out the door. When that happens, we stop being fun.
Santa and the Easter Bunny are about as fun as it gets. Seriously.
This is exactly the point of the movie. When children stop believing in the Easter Bunny and Santa and all the other fun things in this life, they are left believing in fear and despair. When belief in the good things and good values leaves a society, belief in the evil and dark things replaces it. Our beliefs determine our outlook, our attitude, our amount of joy, our amount of despair, and just about everything else about us.
Maybe some of us Christians need to allow a little bit more fun in our lives.
Like I said before, does the absurd and joyful belief in Santa and the Easter Bunny diminish what Christmas and Easter are truly about? If you let it, sure. For me, however, it doesn't. I stand amazed at the birth of the Son of God and His Resurrection. Santa and the Easter Bunny? They're just a lot of fun. A whole lot of fun. I smile as I write this, because Easter is just around the corner. I'm looking forward to Easter egg hunts and stealing candy from my kids' Easter baskets, also known as parent tax.
He is risen, risen indeed! Now put the antennae down and go enjoy the fun.
I loved Rise of the Guardians: something in it spoke a truth toy heart I was not able to put my finger on. I grew up with the belief that Santa was evil: forget any other childhood lore. As I approach parenthood in the next few years, I'm beginning to take more of the point of view you spoke of. I want to be a fun mother. Nothing better than the laughter of children.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with pretend play. But make-believe is only a game when children are told it's a game. Otherwise, you're attempting to deceive the child which makes it a lie. It's rare for parents who "play" the Santa/Easter Bunny "game" to tell their children it's pretend. Instead, a child's trust is taken advantage of just for a little "fun". The fantasy seems more about the parents getting a kick out of kids actually believing in the make-believe than it is about the children having fun. After all, kids themselves can have just as much fun without believing in non-existent beings. And they can have real-life inspirational people as examples if that's what they need. (Or is St. Nicolas not inspiring unless he somehow becomes a mythological figure?)
ReplyDeleteMy family didn't use imaginary beings as part of our celebrations. We didn't need them to have fun decorating hard-boiled eggs, having egg hunts, getting candy, decorating Christmas trees, and giving and getting presents. I fail to see the advantages lying brings to the celebration. And there are distinct disadvantages when it comes to lying (besides damaging your relationship with God by sin). How are kids supposed to trust everything you say, especially about God, when you have lied about other mysterious, unseen beings? And when your kids lie to you, how do you explain that they are wrong but what you did to them was all right? How is this a healthy foundation for your future relationship with your kids?
I'm used to my view on this being dismissed as sour and legalistic, but I'm not into being either one. God wants people to have fun and celebrate! I'm just objecting to the practice of lying for a good cause (having fun). In the end, how is it different than sinning in a different way for the same "good cause"? If you want to dress up in a bunny suit or a Santa suit and have fun with your kids, why not just tell them it's for pretend?