Do I tell them the truth?

Last year, we started a new tradition.... and I almost forgot about it this year.
Have you ever heard of the Elf on the Shelf? Well, he/she arrived last year in our house and was named.....

... but I couldn't remember! I had to go back to my post from last year (here) to find out that it got the name 'Olli'. I still like it. I got the calendars ready, but I forgot to pull Olli out last night, so I did this morning, and Coqui still hasn't found it yet. I am waiting for his excited cry out. (If not, I have to point it out to him.)

But with this and so many other traditions, there comes a little bit of a battle, on many levels, emotionally, spiritually, and culturally.

Most kids grow up knowing who Santa is and believe that he really exists. Santa has different names all over the world, but the idea is the same: a good guy in a red suit that gives gifts to the behaved children and spanking or coal or whatever not-so-nice thing to the ones that misbehaved. In Germany, he is called Weihnachtsmann or Saint Nikolaus, in French Pere Noel, in Russian it's Ded Moroz, and in Spain El Nino Jesus. So the elf Olli is suppose to help Santa keep track of those children and if they are behaving, or not.

So what threw me off was the idea of a guy having almost the same power as God. As Christians, we know the reason for this season, and the reason is called Jesus. So it is sad, to me, that we (me included) forget, sometimes. For me it is especially an (extra) effort to make the transition from my childhood memories that were so not God-focused and more traditional and cultural, to a God-driven attitude of celebrating Jesus' birth.

So about two weeks ago, I announced in my support group that I wanted to tell my kids the TRUTH about Santa. That did not go over well! We do live in the bible belt, and (most of) these women are believers, but they did not like me taking away from the magic of Christmas. What magic? Is Santa suppose to be the magic? Why do we need that? I don't think of my childhood memories as magic, they are just special. And shouldn't the birth of Jesus be magic? I mean any birth is a miracle, a miracle of God, of a human being entering this world as a creation of God. That is true magic!

I don't remember when I found out the truth, I really don't. It might have been a gradual process where one hears things at school and wonders for a long time, until the parents finally give in and tell what is really going on at Christmas. I DO remember, though, finding the secret hiding place of my parents - the place where they kept the presents that they had bought for us. Then I remember watching them through the keyhole carrying those presents, wrapped now, from their bedroom to the living room. So maybe this is how I found out. But I do not remember to be sad or anything. There was no breaking of the spell..... the magic (and I wouldn't have called it this way as a child) was not gone! Christmas was still special to me.

Today, as a mom myself, and especially as a Christian mom, I want my kids to know about Jesus first, then about the 'joy of giving', and then about receiving gifts!

So now I want to know from you, how you learned about the truth. Was it a shock? And did it destroy any magic? Or did you never know who Santa is?
And if you are a parent - when are you planning on telling your children the truth? 

Also: I want to send you to my friend's blog post from today: Beth wrote about a neat advent book in order to keep the thought of Jesus close to our hearts. Please check it out, here.