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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

How a Silly Santa Story Exposed My  Hypocrisy

by Chautona Havig · 12 Comments

I’ll never forget that evening. It was in Fillmore, California on Mountain View Street.  I was four.

We all sat around the dinner table, and Dad had just poured milk.  I’m pretty sure he was about to stuff some cornbread in it.  Thought you oughtta know.

I’d spent the day with my cousin, Julie, and she’d told me all about this amazing guy—Santa Claus.  He made sure you weren’t a brat, and if you weren’t, he brought you cool presents on Christmas morning.

Complete honesty here?  I figured I had this one in the bag.  In my four-year-old mind, if Julie managed to eke out presents from this old dude in a velvet suit, then I could.  I didn’t get in nearly as much trouble as she did.

Except while I was at her house.  But that’s a story for another day. Suffice it to say, every evil cousin needs a scapegoat.  Just call me Billie.

 Not that I was bitter or anything.

So there I sat at the table, just going on and on about the amazingness of this Santa dude when my dad lost all patience.  He slammed his fist down on the table, milk spilled all over the place, and he almost shouted, “There is no Santa Claus. I am your Santa Claus.”

And so the dreams of yet another child were destroyed by the truth of Santa.  For what it’s worth, I suspect I had the shortest running “faith” in the jolly old elf of anyone in human history.

I couldn’t wait to tell Julie that she got it wrong.  That’s when my “revenge” withered. While Dad mopped up milk and explained why parents told the Santa lie (his words, folks) to their kids, he also informed me that it was not my job to correct Julie.  I was not to tell her that Santa wasn’t real.

Okay, I might still be a bit bitter about that.  Just kidding.  Mostly.

Years passed, and I had my own children.

We didn’t “do” Santa Claus with them, either.  You see, no matter how I might have felt that December night in Fillmore, my dad was right.  They could not have told me Santa was real and then later told me he wasn’t.  I was one of those kids who would have lost all faith in their word if they’d done that.  It’s who I was.

Not all kids are that way.  Yes, there’s hurt and disappointment when they figure out the Santa myth is just that—a myth.  But many (if not most) kids get that it was something their parents did to add enjoyment to holidays.

I wouldn’t have been. 

And I was not about to risk that with my own kids.  Confession time: I was tempted—really tempted.  Trust me, it’s easier to just follow along than to be a lone ranger on these things.  I spent years trying to teach my kids not to ruin it for others.  I’d say, “Just tell them that Santa isn’t invited to our celebrations.  It’s true, and yet it doesn’t spoil for them what their parents have chosen.”

Frankly, I know I created a few self-righteous little snots about it.  I’ll go further and admit that I sympathized.

Any way you look at it, Santa is a touchy subject. But what does all this mean?  What’s the point?  Well…

How a Silly Santa Story Exposed My Hypocrisy

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How a Silly Santa Story Exposed My  Hypocrisy

Moore's Code: Santa's Secret RevealedBack somewhere between 2005 and 2010, I was sitting in my sewing room, working on orders, and singing along to The Brothers Four’s Christmas album.  They sang “The Night Before Christmas.”

A line appeared.  I stopped sewing.  Skipped back.  Tried again.  And again.  And again.

What was the line?

“And what to my wond’ring eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.”

If it had been a movie, all kinds of crazy memories would have exploded on the screen.  “Jolly old elf…” Things like that.

“Santa Claus is tiny.  All the books and movies get it wrong.  He’s tiny!”

I’m pretty sure a kid said something like, “He’s also not real.”

The hypocrisy began right there because I’m pretty sure I said, “Who cares? He’s tiny!”

The story emerged right away.  A precocious, bratty kid who was accustomed to getting what he wants and smart enough to do something with that.  And a kid who wants all the presents to himself, of course.

Hypocrite much?

Let me be a bit “on the nose” here and point out a few things.

  1. I can’t stand bratty kids—in fiction or in real life. I’ve very little patience with them, and the child I wrote is awful.  My kids looked at me like I’d lost my mind when they discovered what a little tyrant I’d created.
  2. I wrote a book about Santa Claus.
  3. My book about Santa Claus doesn’t even hint at the real point of Christmas! Jesus isn’t even mentioned.

All three of those are things that would make me run from the book if I saw it in the store.

But I wrote it.  And, while I’m baring my soul to the world here, I should confess that I had fun writing it.

I like the silly little book.

As a general rule, I don’t talk about it much on my site here.  Why? Well, it’s a Santa story that takes place at Christmas and features nothing whatsoever about the goodness of God.  It doesn’t fall under my “Christian fiction without apology or pretense—lived, not preached” motto, you know?

However, as they say, confession is good for the soul.   So I’m confessing.  I wrote it.  It has cute pictures and silly fantasy elements including a few fun elves and an evil cousin to Santa, Scrooge.  You’ll find catapults that fire “snow cones” at the enemy.  For the uninitiated, “snow cones” are pine cones with snow packed around them.

I’m curious:  Who can tell me why I named it “Moore’s Code?”

For the offended, please forgive me.  Meanwhile, HERE’S why I usually write Christmas books–ones where Jesus is where He belongs.

 

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Comments

  1. valerie says

    January 3, 2019 at 5:02 pm

    We are a rare group. We don’t do Santa because when I was in third grade I started doubting and questioning the guy who never looked the same from one year to the next.

    My dad hired a Santa to come into my bedroom and wake me up and give me a gift (early). He had such a good laugh about it for years and years. “For just one moment you believed.” I thought it was my dad dressed up as Santa, but I was shocked when he called my name at the doorway where he stood watching.

    So that is why we don’t lie to our kids about Santa… I wanted them to trust me that Jesus is alive and real, even if you canot see him.

    I am glad you had fun writig a silly book. Honestly my favorite books you have written are Past Forward and the Heartland series. I also enjoyed the group with Ready or Not. I doubt I will read this one, no hard feelings. It just isn’t my cup of egg nog. 😉

    God bless!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      January 4, 2019 at 5:06 am

      Well, as I said. I’m a total hypocrite for writing it. I would never have hard feelings about someone ignoring it. I enjoy the others way too much, too. If you like Past Forward, be sure you’re on my birthday list! I wouldn’t want you to miss out on Kari’s Birthday!

      Reply
  2. Wanda says

    December 6, 2018 at 11:51 am

    Finally I have met a person who feels like I do about Santa. The day I found out he was not real I vowed to never lie to my children about it. Why? Because as a small child I cried, not because it ruined my belief, but because I felt sorry for all the children who believed and did not get a gift for Christmas and could not understand why they were not good enough. I learned then that there is never a good reason for a lie.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 6, 2018 at 4:57 pm

      Yeah, it’s not for me. I get that most kids don’t have that kind of betrayal feeling, but man, I would have. My parents were so scrupulously honest with me, I would have lost all trust in them.

      Reply
  3. NZ Filbruns says

    December 6, 2018 at 10:21 am

    I am, and always have been opposed to anything Santa. Now I’m going to break a lifelong thing and read a Santa book. Why? Because you wrote it and I’m curious.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 6, 2018 at 4:59 pm

      I’m so very sorry. LOL. It was one of those, “Wow. I found something quirky. I have to DO something with this.” And it’s fun. But it’s totally silly and of no eternal value. Unless it’s that you’ll love the grandpa and his wisdom. I do think Grandpa is an awesome dude.

      Reply
  4. Lucinda Culp says

    December 6, 2018 at 9:19 am

    I CAN!!! But I was involved in a whole lot of conversations with you during the writing of Moore’s Code, so it wouldn’t be fair. I still enjoy this book, and am so very careful not to end up on Santa’s permanent naughty list..can’t be too careful, you know!

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 6, 2018 at 5:00 pm

      Right?

      Reply
  5. ozarkgrandma says

    December 6, 2018 at 7:28 am

    Love the play on words, er — names. Clement Moore wrote The Night before Christmas. I have no idea how to Translate Morse code. but I am in awe of the people who did it – in old movies etc. ha ha We never “did” Santa either, so I can identify with much of what you wrote. Love your honesty. Now I HAVE to go read that silly story..

    Reply
  6. Courtney says

    December 6, 2018 at 6:45 am

    We don’t do Santa, either. All six of our kids were adopted from Ukraine at an average age of five. I couldn’t reconcile how to explain why Santa never visited them in the orphanage but would now that they had a family. All of the stories and popular culture say that Santa visits “good” kids. What does *that* tell all of the orphans??

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      December 6, 2018 at 5:01 pm

      That is a fabulous (and awful, you know) point!

      Reply
  7. Rebekah Walker says

    December 6, 2018 at 5:25 am

    You made me laugh!! Now I can’t NOT read this book. ???

    Reply

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Episode 206: A Chat with Lisa Phillips about Her New Spin-off Series
byChautona Havig

Fans of Lisa Phillips’ Last Chance County series are doing happy dances following the release of an exciting new spin-off series, Last Chance Fire and Rescue. Expired Return brings back a few favorite characters and kicks off another of Sunrise Publishing’s author/mentor led fiction seasons! Listen in to find out what happens when an author brings back a guy she dropped a building on a couple of books back…

 

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This new Last Chance County series promises everything we love about Lisa Phillips’ world–danger, intrigue, heart-stopping suspense, drama… you know… all the feels. But in addition to her own release, Expired Return, this series also introduces us to new authors who have been carefully vetted and selected to ensure they do justice to Lisa’s Last Chance characters. I, for one, can’t wait to check it all out.

Lisa and I chatted about what she plans for the series,Lisa hinted about a possible super-secret reveal coming soon, and I even poked her with the idea of a Last Chance Christmas.

Help me convince them on that, will ya?

But this new book… Whoa…

Expired Return by Lisa Phillips

Pepper stood up. “How dare you.” She could spit fire at him right now. She’d loved and supported Victory since the day she was born. “You know nothing about me.”

“What’s this?”

Pepper whirled around at that voice. Heart. Breaking. She loved that gruff, commanding voice more than anything else in the world.

He wore a look a lot like Aiden’s. Blank, which she knew—or hoped—had to do with protecting his heart because he still cared for her. Except he probably hated her.

Donaldson sat back in his chair. “Allen.”

Former police officer Allen Frees had both hands on the wheels of his chair. He wore a fire department uniform of slacks and a white shirt. Emblems. A badge. His life of service hadn’t ended when he landed in that chair after a building blew up over his head.

As far as she’d been able to tell, it barely slowed him down.

She’ll give everything to protect her family.

He always knew she was the one.

Veterinary tech Pepper Miller lives a quiet life in Last Chance County. She’s watching her niece until her sister shows up…if she ever does. When Victory’s father demands he take over her care, Pepper knows something has gone wrong. With a new drug in town, and her sister embroiled in a dangerous bargain, it’s up to Pepper to protect the people she loves.

Even if it costs every secret she’s ever kept.

Fire Department liaison Allen Frees lives with the injuries he sustained as a police officer in a raid gone wrong. He’s put his life back together but getting the truck crew and engine squad to succeed might be his toughest assignment yet. When Victory is nearly kidnapped at a community event, Allen steps in to help Pepper keep her niece safe. The one thing he couldn’t fix was the love he lost, but he isn’t going to let Pepper walk away this time.

No matter what walls he has to break down.

Last Chance County returns in this blazing new series from Sunrise Publishing.

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His sister has a solution--lots of dates. Great, heaping gobs of them. Go ahead. Be awkward. Get used to it. Then... then try with someone you really want to get to know. He's not so confident, but when a man gives his word... (Note to self: no more agreeing to Selby's plans without knowing what they are!)
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