I don't even like the way people make kids believe in Santa Clause. Saint Clause use to exisit. He was a simple man on a donkey wanting to make a diffrence in the world.
You make it sound like kids believing in Santa Clause is a bad thing, like it's forced upon them. I think it would be a shame if they weren't allowed to have that little bit of magic in their lives.
Santa Claus is a great way to teach kids about the things you mention, things like goodwill. He's not just about toys and presents.
Some people celebrate Christmas by going to church with the birth of Christ. Christ was born in the middle of summer not winter! Only going to church only on Christmas day is like Lois Lane only wanting to see Clark Kent once a year! or you seeing your husband, one time a year.
Does the season really matter? People celebrate the birth of Christ, December 25, not Summer or Winter. And hey, it's the middle of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere at the moment, so half the world got it right...
As for only going to Church on Christmas Day, if that's the only day in the year that people go to church, the only time in the year that they experience enough faith to venture out, then I think that's fine. At least they're experiencing it. They're obviously feeling the spirit of the season, which is a good thing.
I'm not a regular church-goer, but I always make a point of going to church on Christmas Eve or at midnight. It's not that I feel forced to go just because it's Christmas. It's that Christmas brings out a stronger emotion in people, and one of the ways people express this is by going to church.
