It all comes down to whether or not you tell your children a complete fabricated myth, or a believable thing. Santa didn’t come down our chimney, he’d get burned etc. My parents always emphasized the “Caring” part of the myth. We understood that the “media hype” was a bit silly.
Of course children who misbehaved got presents too, as long as they made up for their wrongs, and made honest efforts to be good. We didn’t judge who would and wouldn’t get a gift from Santa, that was up to them. (Though we felt it would take a really BAD thing to get no gifts, like killing something and not being sorry.) Kids in my brother’s class who were of a different religion got visits from Santa too. Also, we were poor, and got packages from charity brought to our doorstep at Christmas time. The gifts to everyone were labled “From Santa”.
Why is this presentation a bad thing? My parents didn’t “lie” to me in a way. They used a myth to teach me and my brother about Caring and Giving, and to give us a tangible consequence from the world-at-large if we made bad choices, and did “not nice” things. Also, the “be good” part was a year round thing, not just for a month.
I’d say it was more of a “fib” or “social white lie”, than the less altruistic Lie. (Example: your friend loves a certain dress, which doesn’t look terrible on her, but not so good either, you tell her “You look ok” with a smile, rather than hurt her feelings, because she’s that sensitive, she’s put on weight.) They also let me see that they were human from an early age, and made mistakes too, so maybe that’s part of it.
And no child I have known was ever devastated to find out Santa wasn’t real. This includes myself, my brother, any and all peers I can remember from my childhood, all similarly aged cousins, my children, my cousins’ children, and any of my childrens’ friends. If anything devastates these kids, it is that the toys they get do not look and work exactly as they do on TV. Learning Santa is not real was always a rite of growing up; a badge to be worn proudly over the ‘babies’ (a humorous term to adults when coming from a 5 year old).
Well, my dad doesn’t believe in Dinosaurs. He thinks the world is 10k years old, and that dinosaurs are some fictional creation done by scientists for nefarious reasons based off a chicken bone. (according to him, all dinosaur bones are fakes, casted out of plaster)
Reasoning with him is impossible, as he gets a bit too passionate about this belief. Personally I have given up even trying, and when he sees something about “such and such at several millions years old” and laughs and tells us his dinosaur story, I just sigh and let is pass.
And, notwhitstanding Akatsukami’s dictionary, “myths” is not synonymous with “prejudiced lies”. But that has been a dozen of previous threads…
The BIG mistake in the handling of this incident would be bringing in a Santa actor to “prove” their point. That’s shortsighted (they’ll find out for sure in a couple fo years!) and the kids who had already learned or figured the truth may even feel insulted. Now they’re going to be expected to pretend to believe, just to be in the good graces of the school? Nice crop of little cynics they just bred; I can only fear these kids are going to be a lot more receptive to conspiracy-coverup theories after this.
'Tis one thing to “spin” the release of unpleasant information for the sake of sensitivity. It’s a whole 'nother bag of lumps of coal to put on a show of deliberate denial.
** I didn’t care that Santa wasn’t real – I was devastated that my parents would lie to me. Before that recognition, you see, that possibility did not exist in my world. When I realized that I couldn’t rely on them to give me accurate information about the world – well, that was hard.
For the record, you’re a nematode-infested wetbrain with the emotional sensitivity of mildew.
Let’s be honest here—this is a purely selfish act on the parents. They are deliberately lying to their larvae to reassure themselves about their children’s “innocence.” If they really cared about their kids’ intellecutal development, they would come clean about the Santa myth.
And frankly is there any significant difference between the parents’ desire to maintain their children’s belief in the Santa myth and taking them to church to brainwash them about the God myth? Why condemn one and not the other?
Henry B I was in Finland a few years ago and went on a tour of Santa’s Home. Can’t remember, somewhere near Rohamenie [sp]? I asked my Finnish friend showing me around if Santa Claus was invented in Finland. He replied “what do you mean invented?”
What makes you think it’s either or? In our house we give out most presents, and there are smaller things here and there from “Santa”. Why? Because it lends a magical element that I, for one, remember quite fondly from my own childhood. I remember the delight of being able to really believe that something so magical existed. I don’t remember any trauma at finding out the truth. I remember finding absolute proof one year, too, and how elated I felt. (I found a reindeer collar with bells on it). I never felt betrayed or anything when I found out the truth.
"Ho, Ho, Ho, hello kids, how are all of you today?
It’s so nice to see all your happy smiling faces. Now kids, I came by here today to tell you two very important things:
First, no matter what anyone might tell you, I’m real. As real as any of you children, and don’t let anyone tell you different.
Second, and this is something I’ve been meaning to get cleared up, you’ve been spelling my name wrong all these years, kids. My name’s not Santa, it’s Satan. Satan Klaus. Yep, Prince of Darkness, Lord of Deceit, all that. What’s that? Why would I bring you presents if I’m Satan? Why, in exchange for your souls, of course! You didn’t think I was just giving all those toys away, did you? No, most of you have completely traded your souls away for Pokemons and Playstations by now. Why, little Brandi over there was asking me for so many toys that she was in my pocket by the time she turned four!
Well, I have to be going now, kids. I know if I’d traded my immortal soul for a copy of John Madden 2004, I wouldn’t want it to be late just because Old Nick was gabbing with a bunch of hellbound sinners, heh heh!
