I grew up with Santa. I was a complete believer until the second grade when schoolmates enlightened me. One of my brothers was mentally handicapped so our family ‘believed’ in Santa for his sake all the way into his adulthood. Like most, I thought of Santa as a fun tradition. It wasn’t until I accepted Christ at 28 that I started to question whether it was great idea to teach kids to believe in someone that doesn’t exist only to come clean about it later.
Many children cry when they are told the truth about Santa. Others feel embarrassed to have believed longer than their siblings or classmates and some even feel angry to learn that their parents and other family members lied to them. All of these reactions are completely understandable.
Of course Santa isn’t the only lie we tell our children when they’re young, don’t forget about the tooth fairy.
Today, I’m against teaching children to believe what isn’t true. It’s not that I have a specific problem with Santa – it’s just that I think it is possible to make Santa part of Christmas without lying. Children know how to use their imagination and have fun with stories after all.
What do you think?


