Is Santa Claus Real?

This discussion came up in my family for the umpteenth time this Christmas. Most of my family members know that I don’t advocate teaching in a literal Santa Claus, and some agree with me, but I’ve never spelled out why I have such strong feelings about it because I don’t want to create controversy or make anyone feel criticized about their parenting choices. Like I told my family, all parents need to make The Santa Decision for their own families, and it doesn’t make you bad parents one way or the other. BUT, that said, I think there are implications to the relatively modern Santa-phenomenon that people don’t think about. Here’s my synopsis, in pros and cons.


CONS TO TEACHING SANTA IS “REAL”

•    UPSTAGES JESUS CHRIST: Children are inherently more drawn to a Santa figure than to the real Savior: A mystical, magical being that flies, has magical reindeer, sneaks through your chimney to bring presents, lives in the mystical north pole, has elves, etc? That is far more titillating to a child than the story of a Jesus Christ whom you learn to know and love only in your heart. Jesus Christ will not bring you a Barbie or fly from house to house with a magical sleigh. Jesus Christ takes some effort and commitment to know and love. The real Savior can’t compete with toys and flying sleighs, and so Santa trumps Jesus’ birthday celebration year after year.
•    PROMOTES CONSUMERISM: Santa Claus represents the consumerism that is taking over Christmas. Many people complain that Christmas has become all about presents and “stuff” rather than Jesus Christ (or family, or love, or peace, or charity, or whatever).  A lot of that comes from a Santa figure who is – let’s face it – all about presents and “stuff.”
•    ON GRATITUDE: Children who believe that Santa brings their gifts miss an opportunity to learn about gratitude - to understand that gifts come from people who love them who took time to think about them and make or buy something thoughtful.
•    TEACHES ENTITLEMENT: If children think presents come from Santa, out of the blue, at no cost to them or anyone around them, it just encourages an entitlement attitude that children (and people everywhere) are not in need of.
•    ON GIVING AND SACRIFICE: Children who believe Santa brings gifts their gifts miss an opportunity to learn about giving, that gifts are both received and given. If your presents come from Mommy and Daddy and others who love you, you learn that you have the opportunity to give gifts too.
•    ON CHARITY: Children who focus on Santa miss an opportunity to learn about charity, that if gifts come from people, not magic, children learn that we all have a responsibility to care for one another (because no magical being is going to fill in the gaps where humanity fails to provide for each other).
•    JESUS-SUBSTITUTE: Santa Claus is a “counterfeit” in my view: you often hear that Satan’s most effective tool is creating counterfeits of sacred things in order to detract from them. I know this may sound extreme to many, but look at what Santa Claus has become in our society: a “magical,” mystical being who encourages you to be “good” and who loves little children?  These are semi-Jesus attributes, but Santa falls far short of the true miracle of Jesus Christ’s gift to us all, and to allow Santa to take the spotlight robs Christmas of its true message.

•  ON FAITH: Here’s the nutshell version: If you teach your children that Jesus is real, and also that Santa is real, and they find out Santa is not real, why should they believe Jesus is real?  I have friends who advocate teaching Santa as an allegory of faith. Which is fine and good as an allegory. But for a child to be taught that if they believe whole-heartedly in something they cannot see that seems fantastical and a little other-worldly, and then they are promptly taught that, in fact, what seems to be far-fetched is indeed not real, that what doesn’t make logical sense and can’t be seen is indeed false – that’s a pretty big “lesson about faith” at an impressionable age, don’tcha think? (And not the lesson you meant to be teaching). I know many many children have grown up believing in Santa and remained faithful Christians throughout their lives, but who is to say it isn’t a factor in the increasing religious skepticism in the modern West? Consider that Santa has been around for just over a century and has been a widespread Christmas icon for a few generations in the Christian West. In that same time period, most western countries have gone from being religious, observant people to becoming mostly godless and secular. We are removing God from our currency and national songs, ceremonies, and monuments, banishing Him from our public places and our children’s schools, etc, so that now, those that still believe in Him are considered by many to be juvenile, blinded, half-wits (not very different from how you viewed other kids who still believed in Santa once you learned he wasn’t real, is it?).  Am I saying all this is Santa’s fault? Certainly not. But who knows how much the confusion of religious icons affects a very young mind, especially as we are learning more about the heavy impact of early brain and child development.
•    PARENTAL TRUST: Some (not all, maybe even not very many, but some) children feel betrayed by their parents when they learn Santa isn’t real. If you aren’t truthful with your children about Santa, they may consciously or unconsciously feel unable to trust you about other important questions. Children need to feel that their parents are a source for reliable information and values, and I think parents should stick to that standard even in the case of Santa Claus.  If a child asks you if Santa is real, and you say, “what do you think?”   (as I’ve heard so many advocate, as a way of “not lying”) you are ignoring their honest plea to know the truth. Why teach a child that they cannot come to you for answers?  I think that the subconscious effect of this on a child so young about something so big (to them) is probably more than we realize, and it’s a chance I don’t want to take, even if the risk is small.


PROS TO TEACHING THAT SANTA IS REAL: After many conversations with many people, I’ve compiled a list of all the arguments FOR believing in Santa that I’ve heard (they really all boil down to a few things).

•    FUN FOR PARENTS: Parents, of course, love the fantasy. It’s really fun to watch the magic of a child’s wonder.
•    “YOU BETTER WATCH OUT”: The naughy and nice list is very useful for parents who want to bribe good behavior during the holidays. Even I have been tempted by this recently.
•    FUN FOR KIDS: Obviously believing in such a fantasy is fun for children (but I beg to differ on this point somewhat. I knew, as a child, that Santa was merely a fun icon and not a real being, and I guarantee you my Christmas was no less fun. I had all the same anticipatory wonder, the same imaginary fun, the same love of Christmas. I just knew where it came from.)
•    OPPORTUNITY FOR IMAGINATION: Parents love to give their kids an opportunity for wild imagination and fun. Obviously we all want to foster kids’ imaginations. (But... if they think it’s real, is that really imagination, per se? Again, without believing Santa is real, kids can have just as much fun with their imaginations, just as they play house, fairies, cowboys & indians, games, etc. That’s imagination, and they know it’s a game. I’m not sure believing something is real is any better, let alone if it even technically qualifies).

I’ve also heard people say “it doesn’t do any harm,” but that’s not a “pro.” It’s a defense against arguments against, and so it isn’t really an argument. It’s sort of the equivalent of saying, “nuh-uh! Does not!” so I refuse to include it in my list of pros, though I figured it needed to be included somewhere.

So there. Anyone wanting to know why I won’t teach my children to believe in Santa now knows.  All you Literal-Santa-Promoters and believers can roll your eyes now (if you haven’t already rolled them a million times :)  

So to each his own. I’m sure if your kids believe in Santa they’ll be just fine (like my husband reminds me about him and his siblings).  I confess though, while on one hand I don’t care how you do it with your kids, on the other, I do wish more people would do what they could to make Christmas about Christ, and not about all the things Santa represents. So if you are Christian, I’ll put in a plug for that much, at least.