Santa Claus is Dead
We are really feeling the holiday spirit chez Schmidt. We put up the Christmas tree (sorry, no Festivus pole), the boys are making ornaments and decorating, we hung the stockings by the chimney with care. We even sing Christmas carols and watch TV specials whenever we can point the rabbit ears just right to get reception.
It is neat to see how our Christmas cheer spills out to the rest of the world. When we were at the library the other day for their free sign language class, one of the librarians told us that Santa Claus was going to come visit in a couple of weeks.
In front of all the other kids and their parents, Gunnar told her “No he isn’t. Santa Claus is dead.”
Eyebrows were raised, conversations stopped, heads turned. Gunnar sensed that something wasn’t quite right, so he added.
“I know that because my dad told me.”
Suddenly a bunch of people were looking at me. I smiled, shrugged my shoulders and kept my mouth shut. So now I don’t think I’ll win the neighborhood parent of the year award.
Of course, he was telling the truth. I did tell him that Santa Claus was dead. I even blogged about it:
I told him that there really was a St. Nicholas, but he’s not alive now, he never went to the North Pole, doesn’t fly a sled, and probably wasn’t fat. But he was kind and generous, and he might have had a beard. I told a version of the story of the three sisters who hung their stockings out to dry and found gold for their dowries in it the next day. He liked the story, and seemed happy that his doubts were cleared and the world was not full of crazy flying fat men.
Somehow I thought it sounded nicer when I said it. Still, I have to say I’m proud of my boy.
“No he isn’t. Santa Claus is dead.” ROFL. That’s hilarious.
I gotta run, but I’ll be back to tease you about rabbit ears
boremetotears
December 5, 2008 at 1:02 pm
My 5yo has been saying this lately too, after a conversation about Santa representing the “spirit” of Christmas. Can’t be a spirit unless you’re dead, right?
Heather
December 11, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Heather — I like the “spirit of Christmas” angle, I hadn’t thought about that before. I’ll never hear that phrase the same way again.
Lynn — You only have a couple of months to tease me about the rabbit ears. We haven’t bought one of those converter boxes so when the signals go digital we will have no TV and send those rabbit ears on their way.
Oh well, less TV means more time for the internet. Oh, I mean more time for my family.
Rolfe Schmidt
December 13, 2008 at 10:41 am
The real Saint Nicholas is dead. So either:
1. Santa Claus is dead
2. Santa Claus is not real
I think #1 is easier to handle.
Jonathan
jd2718
December 26, 2008 at 10:10 am
re: “when the signals go digital we… send those rabbit ears on their way.”
Or, pack them away for the kids to sell as collectors’ items in 30 years!
I go back and forth on the benefit of having a working tv. Using it wisely requires a certain and constant level of self-awareness/discipline that I don’t always have
boremetotears
December 26, 2008 at 2:58 pm
[...] about picking fights over homeschooling, calling people on their hypocrisy, and cute little “kids say the darndest things” [...]
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