…Is a good band.
But that’s not the issue I want to talk about today. Because it’s the holiday season, I want to talk about a more festive topic.
Santa.
I am one of the millions of kids around the US that believed in Santa. Heck, I believed up until 6th grade, when my [younger!] brother’s guitar teacher ruined it for me. Granted, I was leaning towards disbelief, having figured out the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny, but Santa was real for the longest time.
Recently, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune was unable to publish an article about the existence of Santa in the newspaper, so the Tribune posted it online instead. This was because many readers expressed that their children read the newspaper and didn’t want their childhoods crushed. Also, acclaimed author of A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray posted a blog on her LiveJournal about breaking the news of Santa’s fictional character to her ten year old son. She talked about how hard that was, for the both of them.
So I ask you, you few readers of BOW, is Santa a good idea? I know that I for one was not particularly crushed when I found out he wasn’t real, and it has not caused me to distrust my parents any more than before (hah. hah. I joke). It did make Christmas Eve a lot less fun and exciting, I suppose. However, I also know that some kids do feel duped to be lied to, and hold that against their parents. Even Bray’s son, although her forgave his mother, said “I don’t like it when you lie to me. It makes me not trust you,” then said “Well, I’ve told you some lies, too. Little ones. I mean, we’re just people. People do that.”
And he’s right. People do lie. So is the Santa lie one that we should be willing to risk? I’m torn on the subject, since it depends on the kid how vehemently they respond to the news, but also since I enjoyed being lied to for those eleven-odd years and don’t really hold it against anyone.
We’ll discuss the holiness of the holiday tomorrow. Today, it’s Santa. Talk! Discuss!
