Christmas time is always a great time to be teaching English in Japan. Today while making Christmas cards, I was informed that some of my students were making cards for me to take home. How nice! After class I looked and I think all in all I got a card with a picture of a half-lion/half-reindeer, a thief-Santa who steals all of your money when he comes down the chimney, a hentai-angel, and a picture of Santa with a skull for a face. Nothing says Christmas spirit like a hentai-angel or a half-lion reindeer.
Vanessa informed me over the weekend that she found out that many Japanese people believe that the story of Jesus and Santa and the real reason for Christmas began when Santa came down the chimney to deliver the baby Jesus to Mary and Joseph. She also informed me that many other Japanese people are surprised to find out that Rudolph does in fact have a name, and it not referred to as simply, “Mr. Reindeer”. It’s a lovely time of year.
We had a great weekend last weekend and celebrated Nate’s birthday in style. We toured the sake factory for which we harvested rice and went to our favorite restaurant Udagawa to eat. At the sake factory we got a behind the scenes tour, actually got to help wash rice, and Nate even got a sample of the special yeast that they use! It’s a secret, don’t tell!
This week is going to be a busy one, but there are only two full weeks of work left before I get to go back to KY for two weeks. Much needed and welcomed vacation! I’ve got a few events scheduled, but am trying to make time for relaxation as well. I usually do a good job of squeezing in both!
Toei is getting colder, but not near as cold as KY. We haven’t had any snow here yet and today is really quite pleasant. I was happy to get invited to a principal’s house for dinner last night where we ate some great sukiyaki, and I got to try another first for me in Japan. I got to eat Japanese bees, which is a local treat that the mountain people of Toei good. The family’s 84 year-old grandfather told me they were very delicious and went well when mixed with rice. I tried a few, simply for the novelty.
I am really happy that I came back to Japan, but I miss home and everyone a lot. I love getting your messages and emails, and I like keeping up with the County news. Here I get to add my personal touch to lessons a lot more, so all of my students know a lot about me and my friends back home. They all know that my sister’s name is Emily and that my friend with the long hair is Ryan. They all think JR’s name is funny because it is the same as the name as the most famous train system in Japan, and I tried to teach about Worm and Ethan, but they don’t understand that my friend’s name is Worm and they can’t say Ethan to save their lives.
Hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season and are taking time to relax and think about Jesus for a bit. It’s easy to get caught up in everything and forget all about that guy. Just wondering…after a conversation I had with Thomas, I am curious about your all’s intention with your kids when (if) you have them. Should we as Christians teach our children about Santa? Is it something that we shouldn’t stress, especially the reality of Santa? Thomas said Robert Smith made the point that if we teach about Santa when the kids are young, and then when they are older we tell him he was fake—then will kids not be tempted to do the same thing with Jesus? Wonder what you all think…
Japan is fun but I can’t wait to get home to see you all…15 days!
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5 comments:
i told my kids that i was santa. a little easier to pull off before i lost 50 pounds, but still.
The world would be a sad place without Santa Claus OR Jesus. People like to believe in something greater and more awesome than themselves. Santa and Jesus provide good examples and make people joyful. I can't imagine that Jesus would want to begrudge children the joy of believing in a fairy tale. This question is a little ironic.
Are we putting Santa on the same level as Jesus? Can Santa truly make children happy? Or is this an idea that we have so ingrained in us by materialism that we can no longer separate the two? Is teaching kids that their presents come out of thin air and not from hard work an idea that we want to instill in children? Or does it help perpetuate the mentality that we are entitled people deserving of gifts and entertainment?
The question only becomes ironic if you look at it through the mindset of "Are we not exchanging belief in one imaginary person for another? Why is it wrong to teach about Santa who we can't see, when we can't see Jesus either?"
thoughts?
It is probably philisophically irresponsible of me to debate this point with you because I am coming from a different starting point altogether. Having said that, my comment that this question is ironic was a thinly veiled attempt to, yes, equate Jesus with Santa Claus, because I think that in a lot of ways (not the least being the way the belief in them affects the psyche of individuals) they are more alike than people want to admit. Parents have long used the "existence" of Santa Claus to encourage children to be on their best behavior..."he sees when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good" you get the picture. I don't have to point out the obvious comparisons with using Jesus Christ's example and the fear of ticking him off to encourage good behavior in children as well as adults (but I just did).
Anyway, I'd say that as a Christian or not, it might be something to consider when having children...but, letting your children decide for themselves what they think might tell you more about them and their personalities than vice versa. I don't think I ever really believed that Santa could exist, but I liked the idea that other people believed. Now that's ironic.
You bring up some interesting points... I want to start with what you said about letting our children decide for themselves... I have been thinking a lot about this lately... What do we let our children decide for themselves? Is it not a parents job to impart our knowledge to our children? (and trust me, i know some of the same people that you do and this is VERY scary...)
Michi has a friend named Seda who is from Turkey. She once told Michi that she would not raise her children Muslim, because she wanted to let her children decide for themselves what they wanted to be. (I will add that Seda is not a practicing Muslim either...)
I think that as parents, if we are truly Believers and Followers, then we must and cannot help but teach our children to do the same. Do we not do our children a huge disservice by not sharing our faiths with them?
Of course, there will come a time when they (as did we) will begin to develop their faith and make it their own. My faith is still developing, and probably will continue until I die. But would I be at this point had my parents not shared their stance with me?
BACK TO SANTA!!!!!
Yes, If you (not specific-YOU!) are looking at Santa and Jesus from the framework that you illustrated, then I completely understand. I do want to say that I think the people who follow Jesus simply to avoid his wrath haven't grasp what He was all about.
When I was little, my mom told me Santa wasn't real, and I went to school and told everyone that it was a hoax and they were stupid to actually believe that one man could fly around the world in one night, even if you believe that reindeer can fly.
And I know that you can imagine a elementary school DH, chubby and a know-it-all, informing the world of the TRUTH.
That image should give you a chuckle.
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