If you know Santa is alive and kickin' don't read this one.

Christmas time rolls around and all of the kids are excited for the magic soon to arrive. There's the reindeer, elves workin' away at the North Pole, giving and receiving gifts, and certainly not least thought about is Santa Claus. The diminishing-with-age question "Are you going to write to Santa?" is as frequent as "What did you ask/do you want for Christmas this year?" But is all this excitement for this figment of tradition acceptable given the possible consequences? Is believing in St. Nick all right even though some may love celebrating his tradition so much that it's mentally straining for them to let him go?
What happens to a youngin' who discovers that the jolly old white-bearded man, who slides down their chimney with his magical bag, which has every toy in the world for every kid, is all revealed to be his/her very own folks? (I warned you, but no, you had to go ahead and read it anyway) Are they heart broken? Is the trust between them and the ones who postulated such a horrible possibility irreparably damaged? In my experience I've not met anyone who has been absolutely traumatized by such an event. And if one would seem like they are, it's likely they'll get over it soon enough, if that person is mentally stable. Do the positive effects that accommodate the enthusiasm for this belief make it worth while?
What would Christmas be like without Santa? It would probably be hard to, even in it's truthfulness, have the kids focus their attention on Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. So maybe Santa is the wee lads' 'n' lassies' version of the spirit of giving and sacrifice, so that they can more understand and maybe even ponder about how much the spirit of Santa conveys giving, cheerfulness, etc. In all honesty I think Christmas to a child would be much like thanksgiving or another such holiday, because of the children's lack of understanding and seriousness. Once the child grows maybe some of the magic and enthusiasm is transferred from Santa to the true meaning of Christmas.
Overall, I think the upkeep of Santa and other such fantasty-like aspects of Christmas is worth it to liven up so many youngsters' imaginations in spite of improbable, trivial consequences. At least, I don't think there was any damage done to the trust between me and whoever told me the truth about it, and if there was then I should hope I've gotten over it by now...

The Festival of the Trees

We're going to spend money as well as a third of our day to help these people have a wonderful holiday. These words would not exactly cause a sadly large amount of people to strike up their enthusiasm or even cooperate. In this holiday season many types of joys are instilled in the hearts of a large crowd all around the world. In all the confusion many's hearts are swayed by the appealing enticings of new cars, electronics, snowboards, dolls, etc. I don't think one would uphold these silly habits of basing so much of their delight on such temporary things if they really thought about the kinds of activities that bring a longer lasting appeasement. The Festival of the Trees is based upon donating money, time and talents to those who have medical needs by buying a homemade tree. This instigates the same joy recieved by ones who are the causes of smiles wrought in others, and what better way than to purchase a Christmas tree which is a symbol of the very holiday made in rememberance of the ultimate gift and sacrifice of Christ. So, why and how can people decide to displace this importance to the lowly objects crafted by man?
In all honesty such happiness is forgotten eventually and probably before too long. However, I am as imperfect as the next and have experienced the "joy" that comes from the recieving and using of these objects. It only seems to satisfy one of the natural human needs, but it is far from the peace I get from knowing that I gave of my time, money, and even better, of myself. This emotion is that of the purest, meaning it makes me want to do better and become a better person as well as continue to participate in activities that give me this wondeful feeling. It is impossible to find such bliss in anything other than serving others, because serving others is the very reason why Christmas was founded. Because of the greatest gift ever given which I mentioned above.
Whenever I look at the Christmas trees that are bought over the years in the spirit of serving, I am reminded of the true meanings of them and this holiday. I can't sit and stare at it for hours on end as it projects some virtual story line or ride on it down the snowy slopes, but it represents something much more along with giving me cause to ponder on the love that has been interwoven in every aspect of it's creation. I can only hope and try to remind others of this often forgotten realm of peace.