One of my favorite Christmas films of all time that never fails to put me in the "Christmas spirit" is the 1947 movie form 20th Century-Fox: Miracle on 34th Street. It's a story of a single mother jaded by miracles who has taught her little girl to be reasonable and never use her imagination. The mom is the producer of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and ends up having to a hire a new Santa Claus at the last minute. Kris Kringle is in the right place at the right time. He brings some new thinking to their lives.
This sweet story became a surprise hit and was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 1948. It won three Academy Awards (two for writing and Best Supporting Actor). In 2006, it ranked #9 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. It stars Maureen O'Hara, a young Natalie Wood as her daughter and Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle (Best Supporting Actor and he wasn't even the first choice for the part!). The fact that it was a Christmas film was initially kept under wraps because the studio released it in the summer to capture the larger movie-going audience. The parade scenes in the movie are from the actual 1946 parade and guess who was the parade Santa that year? Yup, Edmund Gwenn. The scenes from the Macy's store are also filmed in the actual NYC flagship store. When the film was released, Macy stores actually closed for a half day so that all 12,000 employees could go see the first showing. There have been a number of remakes since 1947, but none so charming as the original.
Every year after Thanksgiving, our family sits down to enjoy the story once again. It puts perspective on Santa Claus. I'm not going to spoil it for you if you haven't seen it. Watch it and see for yourself. It can even be a spring board for talking about Santa with your children.
Which brings me to one of the controversial parenting questions I hear. Should we teach our children about Santa Claus? There are two extremes I've seen. The families that go all-out for Santa, ignoring the birth of Christ completely and teaching their kids Santa is real and ever-watching and they "had better be good or he'll find out." They show their kids the websites where you can contact Santa and call NORAD on Christmas Eve. No Nativity scenes or angels for them - but snowmen are okay. Then there's the other end of the spectrum where Santa has no part of a "real" Christmas, it's "a pagan idea" along with the Christmas tree. The holiday is solely about the birth of Christ and that's it.
I think both approaches miss something, and in our family and others that we know there is a blending as sweet as the Miracle on 34th Street movie. We decorate for Christmas with a tree containing ornaments collected each year that have unique meanings. Just setting up the tree sparks many happy memories and conversations. This tradition has become even more important the older our kids get. We hang up stockings that I made. Oh my has my handiwork and style evolved over the years! There are even stockings for our pets. Some years we have lights and boughs outside, some years we set up our Christmas village. When the kids were little, I displayed their pictures with Santa.
Yes, I said Santa. I took my kids each year - dressed in their nicest outfits - to have a picture taken with the mall Santa. It was fun to see how the kids had grown from year to year. So I took them to Santa for the picture. And I told my kids that many families tell their children that Santa brings presents while they sleep on Christmas Eve. He travels the world with his toy-packed sleigh led by flying reindeer. I presented this as an idea, not a fact. Our kids learned that long ago there was a real man who loved to give presents to children and his name was Saint Nicholas. Over the years, that name has morphed into Santa Claus and created an entire industry. We left presents out on behalf of Santa (now we fill stockings) but they always knew who was really behind it. It was just nostalgic fun. And we instructed the kids never to talk about Santa with other kids, because their families might be teaching them he is real. They kept their mouths shut and enjoyed our entire Christmas.
A great children's book you can use with your family that discusses Santa, Saint Nicholas and Jesus is Santa Are You For Real? by Harold Myra. It echoes what I am talking about.
The main focus for us was and is the celebration of Christ's birth. We focus on giving, not getting. Each child got 3 gifts just like Jesus did. We attend church and re-read Christ's birth story from the Bible. We play a variety of music - from traditional carols to worship songs. One of our favorite songs is "Mary Did You Know?" It never ceases to bring tears of awe. If you Google it, you can find links to a number of versions to listen to (Kathy Mattea does it for us).
Call us blenders. We've taken different elements and created our own traditions. Since Chrstmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, he's our focus. Every year, it gets less about stuff and more about celebrating as we enjoy time with those we love.
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