Yes, I Still Believe in Santa Claus

I will never, not in a million years, ever tell a child there is no such person as Santa Claus. Why would I lie and tell my child something that isn't true? What reason would anyone have to take the magic out of Christmas and replace it with a disappointing falsehood?

Tell me seriously. Do you really believe Santa isn't real?

There is a Santa Claus. In fact I just happen to work for him.

Now that my son is 13, his view of what Santa is and isn't has developed. That is true. No matter how often he asks however, or how many skeptical looks he throws at me, my answer never changes.

Yes. Santa is real. No, he didn't actually find his way down our chimney as far as I know, but there absolutely is a Santa who has inspired me so much over the years that I have decided to donate my time and resources to his cause, and volunteer myself as an elf helper every single year.

My son might have a strange mother, but she is certainly a devoted believer in magic, faith, hope, and the beauty of selflessness. Isn't this what Santa represents?

Yes, we are Christian. I am also educated enough however to know that Jesus was not born by some strange coincidence around the time of the winter solstice... a major Pagan day of celebration. I know there was some conspiracy there when the powers that were decided it was time for the people of the land to convert and accept Christ as their savior.

Does my son know about this strange cover up of all Pagan holidays by Christian ones?

Yup.

Does my son believe that Jesus is the son of God?

Yup.

Do we believe we are actually celebrating two different things on the same day???

Yes indeed we do.

The nativity story is inspiring. I love hearing about the angels who appeared to the shepherds who were watching their flocks at night. I imagine the singing must have been more glorious than anything that has sounded on this earth before or since.

Never mind that shepherds did not likely have their sheep out in December....it was probably more like April.

Does Santa really sneak into every child's house one night a year and deliver gifts?

Probably not...although I was VERY convinced of this one year after my sisters and I discovered carrot crumbs on the chesterfield. We knew my dad was likely to eat the cookies and drink the milk, but we were SURE he would never eat the carrots...let alone leave crumbs all over the place. To us, this was undeniable evidence that not only did Santa come, but he brought a reindeer inside our house!

Um...yes....we had a poodle at the time... who really liked carrots.

My point is this..

Why -- when when we still celebrate the birth of Christ on the wrong day, and many parents don't seem to have interest in explaining this to their children, do we feel so compelled to eliminate another historical character once our children reach a certain age?

To put it another way, I have noticed that most of us are perfectly happy to ignore what was probably a huge conspiracy to destroy Pagan tradition (think about it...what do trees have to do with the birth of Christ or rabbits have to do with the resurrection?). Many of us also seem to feel however, that it is somehow our parental duty to admit to our children that there is no Santa.

Some parents think it's wrong to ever let their children believe in Santa in the first place!

How ridiculous is that?

St. Nicolas is a historical figure. Look it up. There are lots of stories about secret gift giving and acts of kindness done anonymously. Many cultures and many countries celebrate some variation of a person (of many different names) that did good and charitable things for others.

Why in the world would I ever tell anyone, especially my own child that Santa wasn't real?

Santa represents wonderful community minded generosity. The spirit of St. Nicolas is still alive and well in the world and it inspires us to give selflessly. It is a very real force for many of us.

So while my son will always look at me sideways and furrow his brow when he reads tags that say, "Love Santa" or, "Love Mrs. Claus" I haven't lost hope, and I will not admit to what is not true.

Someday he will know how real Santa really is.

My grandchildren will be in good hands.

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