The atheist's guide to Christmas

IC: Okay, so they’re older now. When did they start asking about religion and Christmas and the history of Christmas?

DM: They were young. My older son started asking me before he even went to kindergarten. I didn’t want to lie to him, so when he asked me questions about Santa—or God—I would just stick to the facts. I told him that Santa is based on a story about a real man, but that there really isn’t a bearded white guy who squeezes down the chimney. I told him that Christmas is a time for giving, for being grateful and for spending time together. He did seem to wonder a lot about God, too. He asked the typical questions most kids ask. Where does God live? What does he look like? Can he see me dancing?

IC: And so what did you say?

DM: There were a lot of things that, at the time, I did differently. As they got older, I changed my stance. But in the beginning I didn’t really tell him one way or the other. Instead, I’d ask him a lot of questions like, ‘what do you think?’ or ‘does that make sense to you?’ I wasn’t trying to push my views on him and make him take a stand against religion. I just didn’t want to indoctrinate him. I was trying to let him figure things out for himself.