Behind magic and mayhem, children need to learn the real story of Christmas

Talk about the real meaning of Christmas, says Helen O’Callaghan

FOR six weeks, discussions at the school gate have centred on the Christmas shopping — who’s got it all done, what’s on the children’s lists, and what is Santa to do when they keep changing their minds about what they want.

Children, with their lively imaginations, passion for stories, and belief in magic, have a rich capacity for absorbing the deeper meaning of things. We do them an injustice if we let Christmas be misidentified as ‘I am what I buy, I am what I consume’.