Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Belief in Santa

I agree with your DS, Jool. I have talked with DS7 about the difference between "fact" and "truth." A fictional story can contain a lot of truth, and facts can obscure truth.

I figure this notion will be useful when he's really ready to let go of Santa and the Easter Bunny and other such myths.

I wish that more adults understood the difference between fact and truth, frankly! It could save humanity a lot of trouble!

Thought I'd share this story...
Friday night, GS9's 4th & 5th grade chorus performed at the local town's Christmas program. Part of the program was waiting for Santa to arrive, and lighting the town's lights so Santa could find the town. Right at the time the councilwoman was pretending to call Santa on the phone and 'relaying' a message saying Santa couldn't see them, lights from a small plane could easily be seen circling overhead. The kids went nuts, pointing and yelling. The plane was just a coincidence, but it was a well-timed one. On our way home I said to GS9, "I thought you didn't believe in S.C.?" He said, "I don't, but we saw little kids in the audience and we didn't want to spoil it for them."
It was pretty cute.

Aw! What a good kid!

My DD6 still believes, but she believes in that Santa Claus up in the North Poll. She knows that the Santas at the mall are just dressed up "Helpers."

She was pretty funny though about St. Nick (which we celebrate here in Wisconsin on Dec 6th). She kept pushing us as the parents to put up stockings as well. For the life of her she couldn't understand why wouldn't do it: "Mom! You get FREE stuff!"

Last week, DD4 said that Rudolph is a "character, like Dora, right?"

I hesitantly said, "What do you think?"

She said, "Yeah, he's a character, but what about Santa Claus? Is he a character, too?"

Again, I said, "What do you think?"

She replied, "Well, I don't think so. He brings me stuff, so he must be real."

I left it at that.

DS4 knocked off Santa a few months ago. Passing an adult conversation re the need to relocate to the south pole he paused to tell us "but I know Santa isn't really real, it's just people you know who give you presents." And then he and DS6 added the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny to their hit list. I was shocked at first - we have always put some effort into laying it on pretty thick.

But generally, to hear them talk you'd swear they believed - they love the idea and are happy to play along.

MrWiggly asked me just the other day if I thought Santa was real. I asked "What do you think?" and he said, "I don't know but most of my firends don't think so" and then he left the room....as if he didn't really want the answer!

I think that although the realization is sometimes startling and disenchanting for us as kids, it can also be empowering and the beginning of understanding that you, too, have the power to be Santa! I always played up the "Santa lives in all of us" thing for my kids.

We celebrate St. Nick's Day (I'm from that cheesy heaven, now a Flatlander) -- and parents hang stockings too.

DS4 was asking about St. Nicholas the other day. I said he was a good man who lived hundreds of years ago who wanted to share his wealth with the needy. He asked if St. Nick was still alive. I said, no, he died a long time ago. "So who puts the stuff in my shoe?" I got away with "the spirit of st. nick still lives." (DS believes in ghosts, so he thought that was a reasonable answer!)