does the truth about santa take away the christmas spirit?

By Jordan MacLire

My wife and I are practicing Shamans or if we are being culturally appropriate as to avoid side tracking those who are easily triggered... we are Shamanic Practitioners. The reason why this is important as a preface is almost as matter of fact as a family saying that they are Jewish. I have never heard of a Jewish child who believes in Father Christmas (we shall abbreviate to FC), Santa Claus or any other fabricated jolly red man. I do not claim to understand Judaism but I do know from past experience that their practice is full of love, magic, ceremony and spirit. Jew's (typically) do not celebrate Christmas because it is centred around a different set of beliefs; The birth of Jesus, the christian savour whom the Jewish believed to be a regular boy born to a homeless family.

My point is, nobody questions the Jewish beliefs and nobody (in my experience) accuses Jewish parents of being cruel to their children for telling them the truth about FC.

I am not writing this to educate you on the practice of Shamanism, that is up to you if you are interested. Needless for me to say, my spiritual practice is not a religion, religion and spirituality are more dissimilar than you think, I digress... My practice is full of love, magic, ceremonies and spirit. It is who I am, it shapes my everyday interactions with people and the natural world around me, it takes me to the super natural and supranatural realms within my mind and throughout the cosmos. It is a deep and magical practice full of light and darkness, deeply healing and potentially dangerous if not practiced safely. It is a practice that welcomes everyone to heal themselves, their communities and the land they share with all of nature.

Every morning I ask my children about their dreams, they are very important to us as a family. We talk about the spirit of the wind depending on its direction, of the different types of  animals that may pass us by, their spirits and what messages they may be giving us. We talk about the plethora of deities that our ancestors have called upon, some darker than others, some full of light. Most of them are full of human qualities helping us to form relationships, to make them more visceral. For us magic (or magik) is not filtered down into two or three days of the year it is fully integrated into our way of life. It is not just for our children it is within and without everything.

We (as a family) do not set ourselves apart from nature. We believe we are a part of it, not above it or custodian to it as many would believe. We believe in the adage of 'you are not a human with a soul but a soul living a life as a human.' As a human in this physical realm, as far as the eyes can see and the brain can translate, I suppose it would make sense to believe that we are smarter, more evolved, that our children are far more important and of greater value than say the offspring of a wild bird. I do not believe this. Most animals would defend their offspring with their lives, they are no different to us we have just been taught to forget our relationship with them. We have been taught to not question anything, to be subservient 'good little boys and girls' who grow up to be a part of a self-policing society that attacks and ostracises anything or anyone that dares to be different. 'This is how it has always been done' is one of my least favourite utterances. It is unapologetically and infinitely ignorant and certainly a red flag for me.

Religious holidays and practices have replaced sacred ceremonies and practices performed for thousands of years. These ancient practices witnessed and revered the natural cycles of our living planet, the spirits that surround us and our ancestors. This was our chance (throughout all cultures of the world) to connect to the spirits of our land, the Earth, the stars the seasons, nature herself. To remind ourselves that we are given life by these forces and if we do not respect them, it can be taken away.

Here are a few examples of specifically Pagan dates that have been hijacked by dogmatic practices, that have been taken away predominantly by Christianity (in its darker forgotten days). The original (now called 'Pagan') practices pushed to the side historically by sword, noose and flames and replaced by the worship of a monotheistic redeemer God and various other human/angelic entities (notably off-world and inaccessible unless through a priest for example).

Feb 1-2 - Secular: 'Groundhog Day' - Previously: 'Imbolc'

Spring Equinox - Secular: 'Easter' - Previously: 'Ostara'

May 1st - Secular: 'May Day' - Previously: 'Beltaine'

October 31st - Secular: 'Halloween - Previously: 'Samhain'

Winter Solstice - Secular: First day of Christmas     - 'Yule'

& December 25th - Secular: Christmas day        - 'Yule' (time period)

The Roman Catholic church fixed the date of Christmas as December 25th in the early fourth century. The date is nine months after March 25th, the Roman date of the spring equinox. There are many other beliefs around this date and I am providing an alternative to what you may have been taught.

Either way... my children's lives are constantly and consistently full of magic and wonder. The passing by of a Corvid or a simple gust of wind has them in awe of the message from nature. Do we lie to them about a psuedo Christian holiday that has been capitalised into a consumer driven, sometimes even competitive, over indulgent practice? No we do not. By doing this have we in any way taken away any innocence, magic and wonder from our children? No we have not.

As loving parents we will still give our children a present or two every year as we celebrate the Winter Solstice and Yule (disclaimer: The giving of presents is not essential in the practice of loving your children). We will thank nature for the potential coming of Spring and new life. Our children (like many others from different spiritual and religious backgrounds) will respect that their school friends may still believe in Santa.

Our biggest hope for them? That they grow to question everything they are told or taught, that they learn how to build ideals and make decisions from doing their own research and building their own relationships with nature and the humans around them.

That they see themselves as a part of, not apart from it all.

Happy festivities all....