I'm fully aware that our favorite jolly white-bearded man in red velvet suit is a deliberate creation of capitalism, and I'm generally among those who roll their eyes when Christmas merchandise hits the stores in late summer and consumerism is at its worst.
But…
I'm also the one who teared up last night watching my kids and nieces excitedly looking through the window as they heard the sound of Santa's sleigh arriving (go YouTube and bluetooth speakers!). Once they saw him walking up to our door, they panicked and ran upstairs to hide and peek, while [my brother dressed up as] Santa came in with a big bag over his shoulder (sewn last minute by my mom to fit the image), and took out their gifts one by one and put them by the tree. I clicked away with my camera trying so hard not to sob.
As a child in an interfaith family living in a communist Yugoslavia, my Christmas experience was very different than that of most of my American and Western European friends, or even my own children today!
Our Santa Claus was called Deda Mraz (transl. Grandpa Frost) and, in true socio-communist spirit, he came for New Year's, and dropped off gifts for children of all faiths. That part I’m 100% on board with, and appreciate so much today! But, we never left cookies for him, we never anticipated his arrival or even thought he was real, and we surely never worked too hard for that one modest gift he brought us. (Or did our parents never realize that using him as behavioral leverage was an option?)
Why in the world do I feel like I missed out, then?!
I guess that’s the beauty and the trap in being a parent… you have the opportunity to right all the previous generations’ wrongs… but you may ambitiously over-right them, if you know what I mean ::wink wink::!
Tonight I raise my glass to the spirit of fine-balancing, giving, of togetherness, and of childhood innocence and magic!
Merry Christmas, friends!
