this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
126 points (96.3% liked)

And Finally...

1175 readers
194 users here now

A place for odd or quirky world news stories.

Elsewhere in the Fediverse:

Rules:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

When teachers at a primary school in Hampshire invited the local vicar to give a talk about the birth of Jesus, they did not expect it to end with irate parents, sobbing children and a “ruined” Christmas.

Parents have complained after the Rev Dr Paul Chamberlain took the opportunity to speak about other elements of Christmas to a group of ten and eleven-year-olds.

Pupils at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School began to sob as he told them that Father Christmas was not real, and added that their parents bought their presents and ate the biscuits left out for Santa.

Teachers at the school have now resorted to making badges for the children saying “Lee-on-the-Solent believe” to bring back the festive magic. A complaint has been lodged against Chamberlain and the vicar was expected not to be taking part in a carol service on Friday.

Archive

How did you find out he wasn't really? Hopefully not from this post!

top 32 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 75 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Pupils at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School began to sob as he told them that Father Christmas was not real

Which is a bit rich coming from someone who has devoted their life to a magic sky wizard, who has a lot less evidence supporting his existence compared to Santa and, yet, he's caused a lot more misery and death.

[–] SteveNashFan@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago

The OG St Nicholas was pretty cool at least.

[–] late_night@sopuli.xyz 58 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Oh that's good parenting.

[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 43 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You got to love a douche canoe who's made his entire career about paying lip service to an imaginary being going off on a tangent to a bunch of children telling them not to believe in a an imaginary being that brings them joy.

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 17 points 1 week ago

Blind faith in anything is a mental illness.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 33 points 1 week ago (2 children)

How did you find out he wasn't really?

My Dad agreed to be Santa at my nursery but the wellies they have him were too small, so he wore his own shoes. I spotted this and freaked out, thinking the weird old man with a white beard was some kind of murder hobo who'd killed my father and stolen his shoes. My folks had to tell me the truth to calm me down.

[–] Khanzarate@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I found out when I was seven when my parents had to explain why we weren't gonna get presents this year.

Poverty, mostly, but also my family didn't actually celebrate Christmas, the children just decided we were because of all the christmas media they throw around at the time of year.

[–] dumbass@leminal.space 8 points 1 week ago

I found pictures of my brother's inlaw jumping on the trampoline Santa brought me that had the date 24th of December.

I took the photographic evidence, became a little cop and got them to confess, they tried to tell me the dates were wrong on the camera, but the photos of me on Christmas morning were correct, that lie didn't last long.

[–] The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org 5 points 1 week ago
[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago (1 children)

We asked my parents if Santa was real, and they said "what do you think?" We said no, and they said you're right.

I think it's crazy that parents think it's a good idea to tell their kids a lie that if true would fundamentally change their understanding of the world. "Hey kid, I'm probably the person you most trust in the world. How about I tell you a real whopper?"

[–] boreengreen@lemm.ee 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

I agree, but parents believe the religion too, whereas they know Santa isn't real.

[–] Zier@fedia.io 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Leave it to the church to make people unhappy. Let's make those churches into homes for the homeless, at least they would be useful.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

At least they were telling kids the truth for once!

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

That a child was born from a virgin mother due to a jealous god impregnating her?

Could be true I suppose. Bit of a dick move if you ask me. Also kind of breaks the "do not covet your neighbors wife" thing if she was already married to Joseph.. can't remember the order there.

[–] OfficeMonkey@lemmy.today 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

My spouse and I opted not to tell our kid last year, with me not wanting to be the one to spoil it and her wanting to keep the magic "just one more year."

This year was already too late. The kid got into an argument at school about whether or not Santa was real.

My spouse and I planned it all out, planned on going out to get a hot cocoa, etc., etc. Instead my kid sat ME down and said they wanted to ask me something. So I got stuck telling answering that Santa wasn't real, but spun it that it was about learning to give without getting, and ended up pulling out Death's SPEECH from Hogsfather about believing in big lies.

The kid mostly cared that they'd still get presents, so it was a bust.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 week ago

in some ways though the pragmatism of how kids learn and interact with the world, their parents and hold their own emergency discussion summit is pretty endearing and heart-warming

[–] The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm the youngest of 4 and my older siblings are assholes.

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's better that way. Kids need to learn early that authority figures use lies to maintain order and control, that the rest of us should educate each other, and that Christmas is 90% capitalism and 10% everything else.

[–] The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org 5 points 1 week ago

Ok, let me explain the evils of capitalism to my 6 year old self.

Nope....I just called myself a poopy head.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 2 points 1 week ago

Capitalistic Christmas began even before Edward Bernays got consumerism rolling.

"Smell that? What's that smell?"

"Opportunity."

"No. Money!"

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Nothing reaffirms Jesus' message more than making children sob. It's what he would have wanted.

[–] dhtseany@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 week ago

This is why anyone affiliated with religion of any kind shouldn't be allowed near a school at all. My kids would've been kept home that day for sure.

[–] Don_alForno 10 points 1 week ago

I guess he would know about imaginary friends ...

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

My made up shit is realer than your made up shit!

[–] apotheotic@beehaw.org 8 points 1 week ago

How did you find out he wasn’t really?

I just did a lot of soul searching and asking prying questions to the religious educators at my school etc. It all started to fall apart under scrutiny.

Oh wait, Santa? My parents just told me when I was 7 or 8.

[–] proudblond@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

My best friend in the third grade went shopping with her mom and later saw something they bought in her brother’s Easter basket. She told me about her suspicions and it wasn’t hard to make the leap to Santa too.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago
[–] jimmy90@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

miracle on 34th street reference?

[–] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

10 and 11 year olds still believe in Santa? Idiots.

[–] Chakravanti@monero.town -1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

So, let's understand this the way it really is and has always been. Think it'll it be sickening as the epiphany rots your entire awareness of all of it since its very beginning? And what exactly is the cause of the sickness we speak of here? The truth or the obvious puking of the lie from your coherence.

A priest here spoils the lies even you were successfully conned into conning whatever child you say are important to you. You think this event is about a holiday's lie when the only truth of such events is that every holiday is a way for the church to find rapable kids. That priest is fishing for all the kids to find one viable to rape and you believe his lie, that he has any real purpose in life, otherwise.

You still believe that the existence of christmas' lies will help anyone with anything other than the acceptance of lies about the rape of children. If it were to exist for any other purposes then that truth is that everything you think it "really" benefits or does is just a sucker punch to you accepting delerium while they rape your child.

Every.single.priest. Every single "Priest" of all kinds is raping your kids. Every single one is doing it. I'm not exageratting. I'm not "telling you the truth" that some priest trying to decide if your kid is viable to have sex with. I'm pointing it out to you that the rape is either telling you the truth, or putting a penis inside a child. See the difference? This priest is probably one of the few that doesn't rape children and as such will be shunned by the church for telling them the truth.

Why did we start lying to children and accept that someone would rape them?

Come on, someone tell me why it is okay what is now obvious? Why to lie and rape kids should be held...what? Sacred? Yeah, let's say credentials like these are respectable. I would point out that that was sarcasm but it's kind of a good question of if you can get it when anyone is sarcastic.

It's like...meh...you're a bit sick by now aren't you? The truth is kind of difficult to swallow because they're causing a sense of being sick...sort of. You should know by now that it's not the truth making you sick but the lies I side you that you swallowed wya back when that is actually what's making you sick. The truth is just an awareness of your sickness.

You want more? Heaven is heaving and he'll just be hell. So let's go back to loving Ma or everyone literally dies in a very short fashion.

This is about the trinity slinging that God is a man. There are priests that don't rape your kids and tell you that God is a man. Don't know how to tell you what is obvious. Ma is trying to tell you the truth and you won't STFU because you're "preying."