My daughter wanted to run this article about LYING from a few years ago because as she said, “it still applies”……
It is the Christmas season and gifts are a major part of the arrangement. We already know that making it all about the presents does NOT celebrate Jesus’s birth in the way originally intended. Something we hear every year is…“it is better to give than to receive.” So at Christmas time, we know that greed is bad. But do you know what other character flaw shows up at Christmas time? LYING.
Let me give you an example. My late wife Maxine used to buy me presents that, in my opinion, weren’t necessary. In my head I was saying “Yes, these are a cute pair of socks, but I have about twenty pairs already.” Granted most of those socks had holes in one of the toes, but considering I have ten toes, those socks were 90% good. Yet I NEVER would have said as much. What I DID say was something like, “Maxine I love these socks. They are just what I needed.” Here’s another example: What if my friend Jerrie brought me over a cheese ball this Christmas that contained chopped up onion? I would say thank you and describe how delicious it was, and five minutes later I would be regifting it to one of my daughters. LIES all around.
Assuming there are no 10 year-olds reading my column, let’s talk about the biggest LIE of all. We teach our kids and grandkids to always tell the truth, and then every December we turn around and talk about Santa Claus. We make a big deal out of it too. We go way beyond what is necessary by talking about how Santa Claus is watching and making a list, and then we must explain why there are 50 Santas at the mall. The LIES get deeper and deeper. At one point we have all pretended to hear actual sleigh bells on Christmas Eve or perhaps reindeer on the roof. We get into it more than the kids, and it’s all LIES!
To make matters worse, my daughters have been talking to me about some little stuffed elf that flies around the house. Elf on the Shelf is what it’s called. He comes out at Thanksgiving and flies away on Christmas Eve. Apparently, it’s up to the parents to move him all around and put him in crazy situations. It’s insane that we’ve added one more tricked-out LIE to our Christmas chaos.
I’ve also heard of something called a Santa tracker which, of all things, involves a computer, as if we need another reason to stare at a screen. The website shows a map of the world and the 24-hour travel journey of Jolly ol’ St. Nick. I’m astounded that the children grow up trusting anyone after all of this extraneous LYING.
Maybe that’s why politicians think they can get away with LYING although George Santos was too big of a LIAR even for Congress.
Some LIES are necessary and probably OK, such as “No honey you do not look fat in that dress” and “Yes honey I like the meatloaf.” These are because they are done out of kindness to our loved ones. I think the same goes for Santa Claus. Christmas is a source of joy for so many children, and it’s great that Americans celebrate the season in such a magnificent way. Believe it or not, I can remember waking up on Christmas morning as a child and feeling the magic. Those are some of my favorite memories, and at 94, I hardly remember anything.