December 25th, 1991
To Ethan on his Tenth Christmas
Dear Ethan,
Your momma told me the other evening that you had asked about whether there really is a far man in a red suit who goes down chimney's and gives children presents on Christmas.
There are people who believe that facts have nothing whatsoever to do with truth and I think that as you get older you will understand "truth" as something more than what is merely factual.
Although you are still relatively young, you probably haven't missed that the world is quite a scary place and that there is much in it that is very sad. Nobody knows how the world got the way it is, if God made it that way, or if He just allows it to be that way. But it is a mystery all of us struggle with our entire lives.
Also, inside each of us there is a good side and a bad side, a nice and gentle side and a mean and hurting side. We all try to keep that bad side down and back as much as posible. Some ways that we use to accomplish this are things like manners, loving and sharing time with our family, taking care of things like other people, animals, the environment, establishing friendships, getting close to other people, being really close to one other very special person. These things help us focus on the good side. As one of my teacher at Gonzaga might say it, the Dark side is always fighting to steal the show from the Light side.
Santa is a beautiful symbol of that Light side. A kind of representation of God which is outside the usual Church images. The history of Santa Claus is, as you are aware, quite complicated. Each country seems to hvae a different set of customs and a different name and appearance for Santa. Another confusing thing is that at the same time that we say Christmas is Christ's Mass (Jesus' birthday) we are also talking alot about Santa and presents and whatnot. How do these things go together?
That is a very big question and one that I cannot answer is this short letter. It is also one that I more than likely do not have a good answer to anyway. But I do know that the main point is that Santa stands as an active symbol, an emblem, of the activity of the Light side in our lives. We set aside a certain time of the year to celebrate and manifest (show or demonstrate) this light side partly because we know the world has had such a hard time during the year with the Dark side. It is like a reminder, a refreshener.
As for your question, no, there is, in fact, no fat man in a red suit who goes down chimney's and gives toys to children at Christmas. But there is, in truth, a spirit of great abundance (this is what Santa's fatness represents and why nobody ever has bothered to change his image from fat to skinny so that he could actually git down all of those chimneys), which we pull out at the end of the year just as we pull out our Christmas tree decorations and Christmas songs and Christmas shows, which reminds us of and strengths our commitment to the Light side. At the very most root, as Jesus would say it, this Light side shines in every child's face. And by bestowing bounty on children, we are renewing our commitment to our belief that inside of every child is the essence of the Light side. And that inside of all us there is a Child.
You are growing up and we love you more than can ever be said or shown. Your questions deserve honest answers. And they should be answered by your parents. Keep in mind that this new knowlege comes with responsibility: the difference between Santa's facthood and truthhood is knowledge that should only come at a very special time. Emma Rose still needs to see Santas as fact. At least for another 7 years!
Mommie and Daddie