The kids went through the Toys-R-Us wish book that came in the mail the other day. My daughter, who has always been gift-motivated, cut to the chase and wrote on the front cover, “Santa, please bring me everything in this book.” My son got very upset with her and her materialistic ways, and as we were discussing Christmas gifts and Santa over dinner, he could no longer contain his disapproval of her.
“Christmas is not just about the gifts,” he said. “It’s also about Jesus. Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, even though Jesus was really born sometime in the spring or summer, Christmas is when we celebrate it. You need to remember that.”
He paused for a minute and was thinking so hard about what he had just said, you could almost the hear wheels in his brain turning. Then he asked, “Mom, why do people celebrate his birthday in December if he was born in the spring? Why isn’t Easter his birthday?”
I really love how his logical mind works. I was also pretty proud that he remembered my lecture last year about Jesus’ birthday. And then we had a very long and interesting discussion about religion, Christmas, and holiday celebrations of all kinds. We even discussed the “reason for the season”, which for us is less about Jesus’ birthday celebration and gifts and more about reflecting on our year, celebrating with friends and family, giving back to the community, and remembering everything we have to be thankful for.
