Will's First Christmas

[bkdelong]

OK, well it's not quite his first but it's going to be the first one where he has a good inkling of what's going on.

If you read my previous post, you'll note that we spent it at an SCA Yule event. The morning of the event, it was starting to flurry outside and there was a dusting of the white as we left the house. Because of his early rising, he also was stuck in front of the digitally animated claymation "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer II" while Mommy and Daddy tried to catch a few more Z's behind him.

On the way back to our place, I finally relented and we switched between two all-XMas tunes stations. I found myself longing for the true classics - Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire/Danny Kaye or the Revels, Chanticleer and other traditional holiday music. Wasn't going to find but a slight few on those stations.

We got home and started settling in. We did watch Shrek the Halls but I'm not sure he really "got it". Before long, it was time for bed so I took up some of his winter/holiday books to read. I think we chose an adaptation of the original Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer story (he did correlate it to the horrid video he watched on Sat morning), and Clifford's First Snow Day.

After I turned out the lights, we hit the bathroom one more time and looked up at the skylight to see another light coating of show. Then we ran back into his room, carefully opened the blinds and side-by-side pressed our warm noses to the cold glass. As we steamed up the clear view we were looking for lights upon which to see the snowfall and reveling at the dusting on the rooftops below.

This holiday season is interesting. I found myself getting very frustrated at the ads and festivities happening before Veteran's Day and plowing through Thanksgiving. I wasn't going to acknowledge it until Thanksgiving was over but as I thought about it, I really want Will to understand the true history behind the holiday.

I am not a Christian but I think it's important for him to know as much as he can understand about the original Christmas Story. He hasn't gone to church or sunday school yet but that day will come as I know it's important to his mother and I think it's important for him to begin his path of learning towards an end of choosing himself.

I also want to differentiate between the birth of Jesus and Santa Claus but I suspect he's too young. I think introducing other winter holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa will only serve to confuse as well so I think I'll start simple. I'm still looking for the right books for his age. Any thoughts?

I think for now I'm just enjoying being with him, talking to him, asking questions and listening as he becomes more and more awakened to the world around him. He's into Hot Wheels and Monster Trucks but he's learned a lot from Magic School Bus and Diego that he's applying to his environment and it's fascinating to watch.

I'm such a happy dad.

Comments

[chanel19.livejournal.com]

You're such a sap. It's kind of adorable. *g*

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Not sure how far afield you wish to go, but Aisha's Moonlit Walk is an excellent, kid-appropriate introduction to the eight Sabbats, including Yule.

[bytchearse.livejournal.com]

"Santa and the Christ Child" is a kids' book. Puts things in perspective for me, and shows religious and secular stuff.
IMHO it's good to give kids a platform from which to view life (ie a stable spiritual foundation) while still showing them the range of views out there.

Good luck and was awesome working with ya on Saturday!

PS "Whosoever despairs of life has never heard the laughter of a child"