Xmas is coming! Time to let the Santa myth go.

I for one am grateful to my parents for allowing me the magical times they created for me around Christmas times as a child.They were very good parents and I have a lot of nostalgia from my childhood based around other times of the year and family events also.
If i could go back and do my childhood again would i want my parents to omit this tradition?....would i hell! There is plenty of time as an adult to become cynical and jaded about life.I don't regret those few years of naivety and innocence when i believed in magical things and that anything was possible.

I had the opportunity to fly to Lapland a few years ago and take my daughter to visit Santa's official village there.The place itself is breathtakingly beautiful and Santa's village is absolutely magical! If you ask my daughter about her time spent there she will not tell you she feels lied to or cheated by the experience, but instead that it was the best day of her life thus far!

As adults we invariably become jaded with life at some point, either briefly or for long extended periods...i see nothing wrong with a healthy balance of believing in something more magical and creative at a certain point in our lives, namely childhood. So Santa is based on a lie....so what? It was the biggest and best damn lie of my childhood.I only wish i had the capacity and naivety to buy into more of them now and keep dreaming!

reply to post by Bluesma

For once they thought of me and tried to be nice or have fun with me- I appreciated that!

I can relate to this. Christmas brought out the fun in my rather hum-drum-Mum. I wouldn't change a thing, and personally, for the record, I don't believe MY critical thinking skills were compromised or corrupted because I fell for Santa

reply to post by 1/2 Nephilim


Big deal get over it, and dont tell others how to raise their kids.

But...but...but, Santa is God!

You here the stupidest things on here sometimes. Its xmas for gods sake.

The only issue i have with Santa is that he brought me a bike that didn't work one year.....you would think with all his magical powers he would have known it was faulty
I wonder if one of the elves got sacked?

Originally posted by Logos23
I wonder if one of the elves got sacked?

They probably didn't. His elves are slaves working for less than 20 cents and hour

Why sack an elf when you can force him work harder...perhaps in other areas?

Originally posted by daaskapital

Originally posted by Logos23
I wonder if one of the elves got sacked?

They probably didn't. His elves are slaves working for less than 20 cents and hour

Why sack an elf when you can force him work harder...perhaps in other areas?

This is the point i show my complete ignorance and have no idea of the value of 20 cents!? Though to be fair i am a mere Brit who as never escaped outside of Europe.....
This said I HAVE been to Lapland and visited Santa's village so i do feel at least partly qualified to comment on this thread
And on a side issue the elves looked pretty well fed and taken care of to me.....and they were a lot taller than i imagined! Infact they were all taller than me as I am only 4ft10!.Perhaps i missed my life's true calling.I wonder if there is an age cut off point where one can hand their resumé to Santa!?

Originally posted by Logos23

Originally posted by daaskapital

Originally posted by Logos23
I wonder if one of the elves got sacked?

They probably didn't. His elves are slaves working for less than 20 cents and hour

Why sack an elf when you can force him work harder...perhaps in other areas?

This is the point i show my complete ignorance and have no idea of the value of 20 cents!? Though to be fair i am a mere Brit who as never escaped outside of Europe.....
This said I HAVE been to Lapland and visited Santa's village so i do feel at least partly qualified to comment on this thread

And on a side issue the elves looked pretty well fed and taken care of to me.....and they were a lot taller than i imagined! Infact they were all taller than me as I am only 4ft10!.Perhaps i missed my life's true calling.I wonder if there is an age cut off point where one can hand their resumé to Santa!?

20 cents is found in the Australian currency

You can read all about it here:

en.wikipedia.org...

Those elves were just an illusion

The real elves are working in factories making stuff to deliver to all of us

Originally posted by daaskapital
Those elves were just an illusion

The real elves are working in factories making stuff to deliver to all of us

awwww...you know how to burst a girl's bubble! And there was me thinking i would look good in the elf costume....you wouldn't happen to know if the position of tooth fairy is open do you? Though i would have to shape up my knowledge of currency for that position!

Originally posted by Logos23

Originally posted by daaskapital
Those elves were just an illusion

The real elves are working in factories making stuff to deliver to all of us

awwww...you know how to burst a girl's bubble! And there was me thinking i would look good in the elf costume....you wouldn't happen to know if the position of tooth fairy is open do you? Though i would have to shape up my knowledge of currency for that position!

D:

Sorry!

as a kid i believed in Santa
as a teenager i didnt,
as an adult i again believe in Santa!

lifes circles!

Merry Christmas!

Yea, I could never really grasp the benefit of just straight out lying to your children.

It's like the tobacco industry telling you how healthy it is to smoke, when in reality it isn't.

Or like the government saying, "Hey we have to bail out these banks because without them we can not continue to survive; they're just too big to fail."

Meh

Oh and I still don't see anything wrong with handing out presents. Who would? Right.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
Wait a mo so your telling me Father Christmas isn't real?

Then who leaves all my presents under the tree? and does this mean I can be bad all year?
Jk.
Come on it's part of being a kid isn't it, I cried when I found out he wasn't real but it is part of growing up.
Kids believing in Father Christmas is part of the magic of Christmas, It gives us adults a warm glow to see the kids believing in him.

edit on 26-11-2012 by boymonkey74 because: (no reason given)

So you lie because it makes you feel good inside? Interesting.

Originally posted by OMsk3ptic
If I have kids I am most certainly going to continue the Santa myth. Some of my best memories were Christmas Eve waiting for Santa to come, and I wouldn't want to deprive my child of that. Childhood, fun times.

I have friends that do it both ways. Newsflash. The ones who were told Santa was not real are just as happy, well adjusted, and full of smiles come Christmas Eve. Santa is not what makes Christmas special.

Originally posted by OccamsRazor04

Originally posted by boymonkey74
Wait a mo so your telling me Father Christmas isn't real?

Then who leaves all my presents under the tree? and does this mean I can be bad all year?
Jk.
Come on it's part of being a kid isn't it, I cried when I found out he wasn't real but it is part of growing up.
Kids believing in Father Christmas is part of the magic of Christmas, It gives us adults a warm glow to see the kids believing in him.

edit on 26-11-2012 by boymonkey74 because: (no reason given)

So you lie because it makes you feel good inside? Interesting.

It not only makes a parent feel good inside, but the same effect takes place on the child also.

reply to post by OccamsRazor04


You and others seem to have a stick up your rear...get over it.

If it makes the kids feel good then whats the harm. Kids grow out of it and do not actually believe in fairy tales...well some do...I see a lot of ATS'rs still believe in fairy tales...

If you and others want to ruin a kids youth then go for it...leave those that enjoy giving a little magic their children alone.


Guess what...spongebob, Dr. Suess and cartoons/books are not real...ruin that for them to...

There is a difference between lying to children and actively participating in imaginative play with them.I don't believe that parents should use Santa to make children feel bad about their selves, as in "If you carry on being naughty Santa wont bring you any presents" If children deserve to be punished that's one thing but don't bring Santa into it.

But in the same vein....my 5 yr old son has an obsession at the moment that he is Spiderman.He likes to dress up and for me to interact with him as though he is Spiderman....in his little mind at that particular moment he IS Spiderman.Do i then say "Sorry son i can't lie to you, you are infact NOT Spiderman and to be even more honest with you Spiderman doesn't even exist!" ?

These day's Santa is everywhere at Christmas.You dont as parents have to actively encourage children to believe in him as they are already exposed to the idea.The only choices you have is to go along with the child's imagination surrounding him or tell them as soon as they are old enough to understand that he is a load of old bs! I see lots of benefits in encouraging and/or going along with childrens harmless imagination and fantasies...that's how they learn about themselves and the world but i don't see the point in putting a quash on Santa purely because he is a figment of imagination.

Personally i am more annoyed at my Gran for all those years she used to make me eat my bread crusts by telling me it would make my hair curly, or for manipulating me to eat carrots because she said it would make me see in the dark!

I don't believe in Santa, i wrote, and told him so. I was surprised when he answered.

Originally posted by beezzer
reply to post by 1/2 Nephilim

 

if people don't want to believe in santa anymore, that's fine, i guess.

Same for the Easter Bunny et al.

In our house we still believe. And everyone still gets presents from Santa.

To each his own.

Not the "special raisin cookies" ... ala , Rudolphe' ?