How weird is this? Possibly billions of parents lie to their children about a mytical being. Not g

I was actually reffering to my own opinion.

I realised I was becoming annoyed at someone I have never met because of my perpetuation of someone that does not exist.

ATS will do that to you!


a reply to: intrptr

a reply to: droid56

What's a mytical being?

I assume your talking about Santa.

I kinda think it's a good thing. It was for me, it taught me to question stuff more instead of just believing what I'm told.

a reply to: nonspecific

I realized I was becoming annoyed at someone I have never met because of my perpetuation of someone that does not exist.

And I was really thanking you for remaining civil about it.

Belief in Santa Claus is idolatry. BTW, my favorite Christmas movie is "Rare Exports," which shows us the real, pagan Santa, not the "Coca-Cola Santa."

I don't think it matters an iota whether you tell your kids he exists or not.

I was all of seven when I found out, mainly from other kids.

I didn't care much as long as the toys kept coming.

In fact I remember asking my mum for things from a very early age, and it was no secret of course that she bought the birthday presents - so I kind of knew early on, without being told.

My brothers and I were of the opinion that Father Christmas came to fill our stockings with goodies, as some sort of hors d'oeuvres, while the bigger stuff in wrapping paper was from parents, aunties and uncles.

With all the creeping into children's bed rooms, I think Santa is being investigated by operation yewtree this year

If you don't want to fill your children's heads with fantasy stuff, you can always tell them about Gaia.
Or chakras. Or crystal, that's a good one. Or karma, another good one.

Besides, the whole Christmas thing got it's start to piss off some Burgermeister guy who was mean to people, so I don't see the problem.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Even to you Burgermeisters out there!

St.Nik has come along way from being a Russian patron who gave gifts to the girls in his village.


I'm sure the Russians see the irony of him becoming the biggest symbol of the West's decadent capitalism.



That's what I'll tell my future children.

a reply to: droid56

I've already exposed Santa as corporate shill in a detailed rant that took me many minutes to research.

I don't see the harm in letting kids believe in Santa, they'll eventually catch on and they won't be stunned by the revelation. Besides how would you explain to your child that Santa isn't real?

It doesn't set a good president? What has lying about santa to do with the president? Oh wait, you meant precedent?

Parents lie all the time or teach their kids things that can not actually be proven, just look at religion. We never really told our kids Santa was real, it was just something we didn't think to talk about. We did however tell them that the holiday was about sharing, generosity, giving, helping, taking care of each other, ect.. We explained that part of that was the tradition of exchanging gifts. We also explained to them what the religious side of things were, even though we are not religious. That it was a Christian holiday and explained all of that. Our focus was on being kind and going out of our way for others be it with gifts or acts of service. But they still pick it up from other family members, friends, school kids, and even their teachers. It wasn't something I bothered getting upset over. When they asked about it, we sat down and explained to them where the story came from and what the idea behind it all was.

No harm no foul. We live in a world where people have an odd need to believe in fairy tales or at least pretend and who am I to judge? I do what works for me and mine and leave others to live their own lives without my judgement. (not that my judgement is worth a hill of beans)

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
a reply to: droid56

I've already exposed Santa as corporate shill in a detailed rant that took me many minutes to research.

I don't see the harm in letting kids believe in Santa, they'll eventually catch on and they won't be stunned by the revelation. Besides how would you explain to your child that Santa isn't real?

By not ever claiming that he is real? We never taught our four boys about Santa, we told them it was a holiday of giving, kindness, generosity, love and part of that was exchanging gifts. It's easy to not have to undo a lie if it is never told to begin with.

Hell, I'm still not convinced he's fake!

A sick culture? One that encourages magic and wonder and imagination into a child's life? One that tries to make things special? When I found out that Santa wasn't real, I didn't look at my parents as liars. I looked upon them with great respect and love, that they would create such magic and wonder into my life for all those years.

I have two kids, one who is 11 and knows Santa isn't real now, fortunately he has never blamed me for perpetuating the myth, all I say to him is "Never tell me you know the truth!"

My daughter is 7, I think she still believes, but just as with my eldest, don't tell me you know the truth.

The magic is for us parents too you know and neither of my kids have suffered as a result, if anything they are more excited having been taught someone magical drops off their presents, than learning what mum has bought them for Christmas each year.

Neither of my kids has a habitual lying problem....well my daughter likes to tell the odd tall story, but that's about it.

Long live Santa!

a reply to: droid56

The myth (pagan in origin or whatever...) teaches children a fundamental lesson in life; and that is to believe. It also cultivates and evokes a sense of magic and wonder within all who partake, but most importantly on children, because it leaves a lasting impression on the subconscious mind before the age of six. Even those who are part of the deception receive that "spirit of good tidings". The myth impresses the mind with a sense of grandeur and teaches subtly the laws that govern intention fulfillment...

It's still a lie. Lying isn't something we should be doing when talking to our children.

I agree to a certain extent. One needs to choose their battles, yeah? It is this very sentiment that lead to my detesting the educational system geared towards cultivating herd mentality of consumer/work zombies that fuels this capitalistic world; ironically at Christmas time the most.

What are your thoughts on the history and social studies/humanities being taught in schools that greatly influence how kids grow up to perceive the world Vs.Lying to them about Santa?

There are many people in this world who live dreary lives as unfulfilled daily commuters because they thought magic was only fantasy. Their eyes are closed to "alchemy" and "ritual" it teaches....

Lying isn't something we should be doing when talking to our children.

The real lying starts in elementary school. The Santa esoteric meaning might come back to some one day when they have exhausted all other avenues the education system failed to provide. Until then, yes, it is just a lie.

We didn`t teach our children to believe in santa we were very clear in telling them that santa wasn`t real.
They are adults now and they turned out just fine,they are better than fine they set high goals for themselves and work hard to reach their goals, I guess they would be classified as overachivers.

Teaching children to expect free stuff is never a good idea, I guess that's why so many people have no problem expecting to receive free stuff from the government,the government is the adult version of santa to some people.

But is Santa a lie? Isn't Santa just a metaphor for the spirit of giving?

I suspect that the anti-Santa people are, for the most part, miserable sots who want to ensure that everyone else is miserable, too. You know the type. Then there are the literalists who rationalize that when a child asks if "everything will be OK" s/he should say, "Maybe,maybe not. You could die in your sleep or contract a fatal disease or a plane could crash into the house tonight. Deal with it, kid."

Parents can easily prepare their kids for learning that Santa is not real by saying, "This is a magical time of year when we tell stories that everyone enjoys." When asked straight out if Santa is real, young children can be told, "I would like to believe that Santa is real. What do you think? Someone puts those gifts under the tree. Who do you think does it?"

I am surprised by some of these responses. On ATS. Much work remains for many even here, let alone elsewhere.

originally posted by: Lazarus Short
Belief in Santa Claus is idolatry. BTW, my favorite Christmas movie is "Rare Exports," which shows us the real, pagan Santa, not the "Coca-Cola Santa."

Imagine that, Santa, a beloved figure, is pagan in origin. Sounds fine to me.