How the Santa “Lie” is Alright With Me

“Magical” is a word I don’t throw around often but that’s how this season always feels to me. Now, I know for many of us, the holidays are a hard time and I don’t diminish that. I actually think it is because of how much sentimentality and wonder we put upon the season. There is a great power at work and it stems from our experiences and memories from holidays past and this shapes how we feel at this time of year. With that in mind, I wanted to share an experience I had a couple years ago.

I became friends with a wonderful couple who had two amazing children. We got together just before Christmas and I asked the younger child (who was five at the time) what he asked from Santa for Christmas. His mother, being as polite and sweet as always, told me that their children did not believe in Santa. The child exclaimed “yeah there is no Santa! He’s just a thing other people tell their kids but it’s made up”. I was pretty stunned. This was the first child I had ever met who celebrated Christmas that did not believe in Santa Claus. When the child left the room to play, the parents explained they “did not want to ever lie to their children” therefore they told them that Santa was an idea that other children believed in (as to not spoil for others) but that he wasn’t real. They were very clear and convincing. The children seemed perfectly fine with this knowledge. I started thinking “wow, maybe they are on the right track here. Lying to your children isn’t usually a good thing, so this way you don’t have to lie and then tell them later and risk making them upset”.

I want to clarify that my own learning-the-truth-about-Santa experience was pretty terrible. I was seven and content with my ignorance, as blissful as could be. My younger sister, however, was pretty suspicious of this older and larger gentleman who manages to fit himself and a bag full of toys down a chimney without waking anyone, flying off with a bunch of reindeer and traversing the globe while hitting every single house in one night. She began asking questions: “but what about the houses without chimneys, does he go in the front door?” “what if he comes when we’re awake and we think he’s a robber?” “how big is his notebook to write down if everybody is naughty or nice?”. My sister probably should have become a detective but anyway, she wore my mom down. She ended up telling us and we both just sobbed. I think my sister might have regretted her need to know and I DEFINITELY did not feel ready to hear that. My little heart broke a little bit.

So initially when I heard about this alternative approach to Santa I was intrigued and wondered if that truly was the way to go. I thought and I thought. I asked more questions of those parents and others. What I came up with was that their approach worked for them which is great, but I’m glad I had it different. The truth is, I was really really sad but I recovered. I learned I could move on from a little broken heart, and that I could still trust my parents. My mom said she wasn’t sorry that she had “lied” about Santa because “kids need to believe in a little magic while they still can. It’s harder as an adult”. I agree with her. I believe that the very little magic I feel at this time of year is a remnant of what I had as a child, when that magic was so real. That is my opinion and there are many out there, so I’m not saying mine is the best. I do like mine, though. May magic find you all this time of year and whenever possible.