Santa Claus – Lie or Charming Myth?
I believed in Santa Claus when I was young. My parents did not go overboard with the Santa stories, but they perpetuated my belief. I remember my dad tuning into one of the local AM radio stations in Washington DC one year and sitting my sister and I next to the big console stereo. The station was running an all-night Santa Tracker and we listened with great anticipation of reports of Santa spottings over London and Berlin and Sydney. It was a memory I will always have.
I don’t remember when I stopped believing. I suppose I was six or eight.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I told myself I would just never tell her about Santa. I wanted to skip over the whole story, because I was sure that I wanted to do anything possible to not lie to my kid. So, when her first Christmas rolled around we just never mentioned the big, red guy.
During her second Christmas I came right and told her, “Santa is not real.” She laughed at me. She roiled her little eyes. “Oh, mommy!” she said patronizingly.
To this day, I have not told my daughter Santa is real. She picked up on the Myth at school and from friends and family. She observed the evidence and decided on her own that he is indeed real. So, yesterday at the mall I asked her if she wanted to go talk to Santa. Her eyes lit up. She approached him with reverence and awe. They had a fabulous little conversation where she only asked for one toy and said with painful honesty “I’m trying very hard” when he asked is she was being good.
Where I saw a lie, my daughter sees a charming myth. Where do you go from there?
Posted on December 4th, 2007 by onecleardot
Filed under: The Way People Think
I see nothing wrong with believing in Santa when a child. What kid gets mad at his or her parents when he/she realizes what Santa really is? Oh, by the way, we lie to kids all the time. Think about it.
Go neutral
You’re not lying to your child, she’s choosing to see some magic in her world.
You figured it out, so will she, and she’ll remember that you didn’t lie to her .
Why are you trying to destroy the innocence of childhood? Let the kid have Santa. The harsh realities of the world come far too soon for kids. She’ll have plenty of time later in life to realize how bleak and nasty the world is. Let them enjoy that blind belief in something like Santa.
But it’s your call.
Kinda harsh, don’t you think, Patrick? Accusing me of destroying the “innocence of childhood”.
I think a lot of parents ponder the Santa myth issue. The search engines are bringing in a lot of traffic to this post from people searching “Is Santa a Lie?” and similar.
I think you are doing it right. Tell her the truth. You can let her believe, while at the same time knowing you haven’t lied to her.
I think if I had kids I’d do the same as you.
I’m 14 so trust me when I say this
LET YOUR KID BELIEVE IN SANTA - tell them he’s real. When your little you love Santa. I stopped believing 4 years ago when I was 10 but I remember loads of great times waking up at 4am to open my presents from santa I was so excited. Also the kids who have been told santa isn’t real is gonna go to school and say around christmas time “My mummy said Santa isn’t real”they are gonna upset their lttle friends who have been told he exists. I think you are mean to tell them hes not real! Its like a part of your child hood. They won’t see it as lie! I think maybe someother lies happened to you when you were younger.
Ellie — Beleive me, my parents perpetuated the Santa story for as long as they could. I believed as a child. My parents were very good to me. I even believed in the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Uncle Sam.
For me, it is simply an issue of always wanting to tell the truth. I see a fine line here. But then, it is almost like kids are born with the ability to believe — which is probably why my daughter figured out on her own that Santa is “real”.
When it came down to the wire, I did the whole Santa routine this year. I put out the cookies and made sure my daughter heard the raindeer. She woke up at 2 a.m. to see all of the gifts Santa had brought.
I have a long memory and vivid early childhood memories, however I do not ever remember believing Santa was real. Santa was a beautiful myth that reflected the spirit of the season, nothing more.
My brother and his wife plan to tell their children (when they have them) that Santa is not real, thus stressing the birth of Jesus aspect of the holiday. I don’t feel nearly as black and white about it. Certainly, the age old Santa tradition is not incompatible with the Christ child, or one of them would have stopped being celebrated.
For me, I believe in Santa as much as I ever have. He may not be a literal person, but he is a real aspect of Christmas. His story and generosity are a good things to help children understand the values of Christmas.
I apologize if I came off as harsh. It wasn’t intended that way. Kids grow up too early. That’s all I was saying.