Sunday, December 31, 2006

HOLIDAY RITE OF PASSAGE

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE ... can the New Year be far behind!

In the previous Compassionate Criticism piece I purposely wrote about the holiday season from a very narrow perspective -- just the Santa Claus story. I chose not to address the specifics of the various religious observances. This exclusion does not reflect disrespect for any, but the Santa story does seem to allow a certain inclusiveness that most can unite around for celebration without raising theological issues.

As for Santa, here's the resolution of the Santa story in that previous post. My granddaughter now expresses absolute conviction regarding her conclusions about the physical existence of Santa. What this means is that she has joined the grownup world of those who know the full Santa story. She did not want to disillusion her grandmother on this topic which is why she did not speak her new found belief sooner.

As for truth versus myth, rather than feeling she has been deluded by the adults in her life, she behaves as though a certain right of passage has occurred; that she has used her reasoning skills to establish a truth. There is little doubt she will welcome the celebration of the holiday, including a visit from the jolly old man, again next year. Wonder if we'll want to go out on the Internet again next year to consult NORAD? ;-)

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