It's definitely good to be sensitive to all view points. That's why we expanded to "Holidays Around the World". It varies from year to year, but there are different stations with crafts or activities to celebrate Hanukkah, Kwaanza, Boxing Day, Chinese New Year. Santa is just one of the 5 or 6 items featured - albeit the favorite!
By the way, our 2nd graders traditionally visit a nursing home during December and take a small box with toiletries and items for each resident.
It's usually timed for the week after our Saturday event. The "Boxing Day" station is usually decorating of shoe boxes for that trip. So there's a community giving aspect to it also, which is nice. (Note - if you do this, it's important to make the really young children understand that their pretty box isn't going home with them.)
My children go to an Episcopal school, so breakfast with Santa isn't an issue but at one local public elementary school, the school took their kindergarteners by the mall to see Santa on their way back from a field trip. Well, the Jewish parents weren't too pleased about that and it made the newspapers, etc. The Jewish parents then presented an informational lesson to the school children about their faith. I guess you just need to be aware of your student body.
Shelly
I would agree that Santa is not a religious figure. Santa is however a symbol of Christmas. Where We live on the east coast, this discussion would not even take place. It is simply not allowed in the school system.There are holiday festivities and concerts, but no mention of Christmas or any other religious holiday.I will maintain that Santa IS clearly a SYMBOL of Christmas.Not a religious figure, but a symbol. When people see Santa they think Christmas. I do not think that people think about Hanukkah, Kwaanza,or any other holiday when they see Santa.
I am all for Santa. I am Christian. My family celebrates Christmas. I just don't think it is appropriate in the PUBLIC school system. I think there needs to be a clearer separation between church and state.
I guess it's all in how you view it. Our family doesn't consider Santa a religious figure or anything to do with religion just as the Easter Bunny isn't a religious figure. To me Santa & the Bunny are separate from the religious side of those holidays. There are religions that will celebrate Christmas but not recognize Santa as they don't recognize "symbols" outside of their faith.
I didn't mean for this thread to become a religious thing. I know it's easy to get on another tangent.
The way you say "insist on being sensitive to all faiths,"
that makes it sound like a bad thing.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing but you can still be sensitive to others, be as inclusive as possible but that doesn't mean that you will always accomodate all people. The point is, no matter what effort you, I or anyone else makes, you will not please everyone. Someone will always be left out. Someone will always be offended. I use the Jehovah's Witness example because by celebrating anything at all, you are being offensive. You can't include everyone. You just have to do your best to make most of them happy and I've said this before, if everyone IS happy, check the water...
Instead of Breakfast with Santa, we tried a new event last year - Cookies, Cakes & Cobblers. It was a huge success. There were two kinds of cookies, red velvet cake and choc. cake, and two different cobblers.
The children also all got to "decorate" their own sugar cookie to take home. This part went over extremely well.
We also had a performance by the choir/handbells with some holiday music and had a visit from Santa.
It ended up being a fun, laid back time for all families.
