Have you taught your children to believe in Father Christmas/Santa Claus?
By Fleur
@Fleura (35191)
United Kingdom
December 7, 2015 5:23am CST
Have you convinced your children that Santa Claus is real? Have they written their letters to Father Christmas?
This is something I have always felt uncomfortable about; we are supposed to teach our children to always tell the truth, that being honest is always the best course of action – and yet at this time of year there is this huge conspiracy to basically defraud children everywhere.
I remember my own childhood, the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning to find the bulging stocking at the foot of my bed… but then doubts started to creep in, I know I was ten when I insisted on keeping my letter to Father Christmas secret and only leaving it out in my bedroom on Christmas eve when I went to bed, to test whether there was magic involved or if it was really just my Mum and Dad. When my theory was proved right I wasn’t disillusioned, I just felt like a complete fool for believing this lie for so long, and imagined all the adults must have been laughing at me. Because of course it isn’t just parents who are involved but other relatives, neighbours, teachers, adults in shops or at church, basically adults everywhere are involved in this conspiracy.
With my own children I have always told them that Father Christmas isn’t real, that it just wouldn’t be possible to visit the billions of children everywhere on one night, but it is a legend that people like to believe and pass on (nevertheless we still do go through the traditional motions of hanging up stockings and leaving notes and mince pies). I have explained that the original story comes from long ago, when a generous man allegedly took pity on a poor family who couldn’t afford dowries for their three daughters, and secretly threw bags of money over their wall at night. We even have a couple of books about Christmas traditions, which explain things like why Santa Claus is portrayed as a fat jolly man in red and why he lives at the north pole with reindeer that can fly. The funny thing is that it hasn’t made any difference; Big One still insists on steadfastly believing in the legend.
What did your parents tell you and what have you told your children?
All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2015.
4 people like this
8 responses
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
7 Dec 15
Ten is a bit old to be still believing, and that may be why you had the reaction of feeling foolish. I think I found out a couple of years earlier than that. And my kids were told about Santa, it wouldn't be fair not to let them have those wonderful years of magic and fantasy. Also, they might go to school and ruin other children's Christmases. Now, my children are grown long past those days and I am the only one in the house who still believes in Santa. But I won't believe them when they tell me he isn't real.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
7 Dec 15
What??? He's not real? As a child we even heard the bells that were on Santa's sleigh and it sent us to bed immediately. We loved the toys and gifts left in our stocking hanging on the buffet because we didn't have a fireplace. It was a magical time and when we finally figured out what was going on we kept quiet about it so the younger ones could have as much fun as we did when we knew he was real.
Why would anyone not allow a child to participate in a historical tradition that is centered on love and happiness and does not damage to a youngster. I'm sorry it left you angry, I had a friend who was 15 before he figured it out and was embarrassed at 15 but loved to tell the story later with laughter.
My kids worried if Santa would know where we were because we moved so often and i had them send letters to Santa to make sure he knew.
It's been going on historically since the 4th century so I guess it just might last a little longer
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43897)
• Cambridge, England
7 Dec 15
I have always known that Father Christmas was real. Didn't he come personally on Christmas Day to distribute our presents after lunch? We would watch for him (because we had been told that it must be about time for him to arrive) and be so excited when, lo and behold, he came plodding down the driveway with his red coat and beard and a sack on his back. He would be invited in and welcomed and would complain a little about the weather and his slow-coach reindeers who made him a little late. Then, in a good Kentish accent, he would muddle our names and say how much we had grown and begin to distribute the presents piled high under the tree. How apologetic he would be that he had missed my father, who had unfortunately had to go to work after lunch!
I must have been six or seven before I the fiction dawned on me and, as my brother was three years younger than I, I was encouraged by my sister to keep up the pretence. I didn't feel in the least disillusioned. I felt, I suppose, that I was now "grown up" and a party to the game. Of course, looking back, I think that it was a marvellous thing for my father to have done - but he was like that: he understood about the magic of make-believe and the reality of fairy tales and he has passed that on to all of his children.
