My dad believed in Santa Claus until the day he died. This was a magical time of year for him. A time when his faith in God and humanity were on full display. He saw it as an opportunity to be a better person, to give of oneself, to share the blessings he had. To him, the Christmas season was the fullness of the best qualities of people, and Mr. Claus himself was the embodiment of that spirit.
Here’s a letter he wrote in 1985 when my youngest brother was 5 years old. I’m struck every year at how his words all still rings so true, and this year, when I’m watching our 6-year-old witness the magic of the season, it hits me in the feels hardcore.
This business of Santa Claus has been distressing me for some time now. Just the other day I was listening to one of the radio talk shows and the psychiatrist guest was telling how it was wrong to deceive your little ones regarding Santa Claus and that certainly by kindergarten the youngsters should be told the truth.
Soon I will have to tell him the truth, just as I have told his three older brothers.
My five year old is just beginning to ask questions on the subject, like “why does Santa come down the chimney” and “do men hunt and kill reindeer.” Soon I will have to tell him the truth, just as I have told his three older brothers. But I will have to tell him that most adults and older children do not know the truth about Santa Claus: Santa Claus is real!
It saddens me that the people of the world have become so jaded and swept up with technology that they cannot see the truth which is before their eyes. It is not that I have anything against technology; in fact it is my living as an engineer. It is just that the crass commercialism of the holiday season, the plethora of TV specials, the hustle and bustle of two income families struggling to keep up with their $2,000+ per month house payments, the rushing here and there in our high tech machines, the age of high tech medicine and high tech furniture, “personal” computers that receive more attention than the human persons around us, the “Christmas sales” and the stimulation offered by films exuding sex and violence have so numbed those caught up in it all that they could not perceive the truth if it ran over them.
I will have to tell him that most adults and older children do not know the truth about Santa Claus: Santa Claus is real!
The situation is reminiscent of the events of nearly 2000 years ago, which we are supposed to celebrate during this holiday season, but the significance of which only faintly and fuzzily affect our spirits, if at all; masked by the jingle of coin and the sparkle of video. In that nearly forgotten time the people did not recognize the truth that was before them either. I suppose that humans must have an inherent propensity for distraction.
I think that I may not tell my Matthew the truth this year. I think that his current child’s perception of Santa Claus will still be appropriate. But from the questions he asks, I will certainly have to add a little adult perception by next year. It would be much easier if he could keep his child’s perception a little longer, because the adult version is not easy to explain to adults and it is very hard for a child to understand. This fast society forces us to grow up before we’re ready though, so I’ll have to help him with that sooner than either he or I would like.
I’ll tell him of the many people whose generosity is magically amplified at this time of the year and how people throughout the world seem to come out of themselves for a brief time to embrace humanity and help their fellow citizens.
When the time comes I’ll remind how the gifts “from Santa Claus” mysteriously appear “from out of nowhere” after he goes to bed Christmas Eve and how the cookies for Santa and the lettuce for his reindeer, so carefully laid out Christmas Eve, are replaced by a quick note of appreciation from Santa by Christmas morning. I’ll show him the many Salvation Army volunteers who brave the cold to donate their time during this season. I’ll tell him of the many people whose generosity is magically amplified at this time of the year and how people throughout the world seem to come out of themselves for a brief time to embrace humanity and help their fellow citizens. Then I will say: “Yes, Matthew, Santa Claus is for real. Just as the Love between God the Father and God the Son is so great that the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, exists; the Love and Good Will that we give at this time of the year is so great that it becomes a person. Santa Claus is the personification of the Spirit of Christmas and he is real! And now that I’ve told you the truth, I hope that you can see how appropriately this fits with the story of the first Christmas, when God’s Love sent us his Son to show us the way to Him. Ever since then, as we celebrate and relive those events, our collective Love sends Santa Claus all around the world to give to those in need and to put those gifts under the tree after you go to bed.”