My family has celebrated Christmas eve together at my grandparents house since before I was born. By family I mean my grandparents, their 5 kids, and 13 grand kids of which I am one. Now there are great-grand kids, of which my daughter is one.
Last year, after many years of not having one, they decided to buy a santa suit and I along with everyone else was happy that the kids would see santa. However I am now of the opinion that santa is at worst a false god and at best a stumbling block, as such, I will not attend and I will not teach my daughter that santa is real.
My family seems to have a problem with this. My mom has threatened to not attend a separate Christmas dinner at my house, also saying things like, my mind is clouded, God is angry with me, I need to quit listening to crazy preachers on the internet, etc. I am not condemning them for having santa there, I just want no part of it. How can I get them to understand my reasoning on this matter? any help will be greatly appreciated.
You didn’t say if your family consists of believers or unbelievers, but even many believers don’t understand the controversy over Santa Claus. They see him as a harmless tradition and don’t believe that they’re putting him in the place of God.
I personally believe that inviting Santa Claus into my Christmas would be like inviting an old girlfriend to my home for dinner. I may not have any romantic interest in her anymore, but it’s sure to provoke feelings of jealousy in my wife.
I wouldn’t do something like that knowing it would make her feel bad, so why would I risk making God “feel bad”? Christmas is for remembering that He gave His only Son for us and directing all of our joy and gratitude toward Him. Santa Claus has no business being there.
Taking a position like you have is forcing them to look at Christmas differently and at least some of them resent you for it. Hopefully in the time between now and Christmas cooler heads will prevail and they will at least come to respect your decision.