Cultural Appropriation: Christmas

Christmas is a joyful holiday loved by families, especially those with small children. But, what is Christmas teaching today's youth? Why should children of different races look up to an elderly white man? Also, the modern Santa is a huge stray from the original Saint Nick. Yes, Saint Nicholas was known to bestow gifts upon others, but his persecution of Diocletian, time in prison, and death was never mentioned. There is not much reason that our children should look up to such a person. Also, parents basically bribe their children by enforcing the idea of Santa Claus and presents. Supposedly, if the child is acting improperly, he/she will not get gifts on Christmas. However, what happens when the child no longer believe in Santa? If the only thing that causes a child to want to act properly no longer exists, whats to say they don't begin to break rules. If parents don't teach their children proper behaviors but rather rely on a fictional character, then children never learn how to properly conduct themselves.

Photo credit: Mimolalen via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24842334@N07/">Mimolalen</a> via <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a>