Personal Narrative: The Myth Of Santa Claus

The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Boogeyman, and Santa Claus, what do all of these have in common? For me, it is the innocence of a child. Children seem to be more gullible and believe anything you tell them; they do not know the difference between a lie and the truth. During the Christmas of 2003, I was five years old and still believed in Santa Claus. The fact of believing in Santa Claus expresses the innocence of a child and brings the magic to Christmas.

However in the over-exaggerated movie it included the reason behind the Grinch's hatred of Christmas; saying it was because the kids used to tease him when he was little, until the day he

This leads into the most important difference between the book and the movie. In the movie it depicts that going to the North Pole to see Santa was all a dream, while in the book it made it all seem real. When children go see this movie, they might think that since the boy is having a dream that Santa must not be real. A lot of research has been done about kids believing in Santa. Gail Vines wrote about “the Santa delusion” from psychologist’s perspectives. According to Gail Vines (2007), children are able to

So you don’t believe in Santa Claus. It’s understandable. We find ourselves in an age of pure skepticism. We question everything. Science has taken hold of our lives, providing answers for all questions and dismissing anything that cannot be explained as either myth or fiction. So it’s quite understandable why you don’t believe, with no physical proof of his existence. It’s indeed understandable to lose sight of Father Christmas with the transformation of this holiday into one that, as of late, is used commercially as a lucrative crutch solely to make profit. It’s understandable to abandon Santa Claus after hearing countless people deny his very physical or even spiritual existence. After all, one tends to

Most people tell lies directed at children. Some lie as a way to shield innocents from situations that are potentially dangerous or hard to understand. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Christopher’s

We all believe in the tooth fairy, the boogeyman, and Santa Claus when we’re little. Well, for me it was a family of ghosts with the skin color of blue and blood dripping down their mouths and if they get me, they eat me. The children ghosts eat more than the adults; therefore, they are the scarier. Another of my worst childhood experiences was with Dokkaebi, or goblins. My mother carved melons into claws and feet and boiled them saying they were goblins. I was scarred for life at the age of four. The “Death of Santa Claus” by Charles Webb is a poem about a not so Jolly Santa and his not so merry band suffering because of a nonbeliever and a boy in Texas is talking to his mom about how “stupid kids at school say Santa’s a big fake.” In this

Once the leaves begin to alter their color for the winter, most houses and businesses also change their appearance for the winter. Many families drag out their boxes of red and green to decorate their house for the holidays. Parents may brave a line stretching down the mall so their child can tell Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, what he or she wishes to unwrap on Christmas morning. Some parents question the effect of a child’s health or morals associated with the belief in Santa Claus, but, with research and psychologists weighing in on the subject, there is no tramatic evidence apparent in letting a child have faith in Santa Claus. Evidence gathered may suggest a benefit for children. Children should have the oportunity to believe in Santa Claus because it stems creativity and can improve mental health, shows youth an example of giving without expecting anything in return, and when the time comes, forces kids to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

For the last three years, I have helped organize and assist in coordinating my town’s Breakfast with Santa program. Each year the program is hosted at a local daycare. The program provides each child with a wrapped gift and a Christmas related book. They are also given the opportunity to take pictures with Santa and make crafts. For many of the children, the only gifts that they receive for Christmas are those donated by volunteers. As a

Also, adults threatening children throughout the year saying that, “Santa is always watching.” Is it just be an easy way for them to have children be on their best behavior at all times? Additionally, another theory that I have heard is that Santa Claus is a way for Satan to take Christ out of Christmas. People say that he tries to make giving and receiving gifts more important than the birth of Christ, but I don’t feed into this assumption. I feel as though parents and large corporations are the ones behind the

No matter how old I get, I still can’t sleep on Christmas Eve. As a child, my brother and I would be ushered off to bed early, just to lie there with heavy eyes. We would try so hard to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus. Growing up we are all imprinted with the idea of a portly man in a red suit coming down our chimney to deposit gifts under our tree; that is, if you made the nice list. This ideology is a hundred and fifty year old tradition that encourages a child to believe in a fabricated being in exchange for a reward. As much as our parents try to shelter us from the truth, it is inevitable that we will discover that our beloved Santa is nothing more than a fable. As a child our naivety is attributed to our innocence, but as adults, there is a myriad of information out there for the taking.

We all know what Christmas is. At least I hope so. You may not celebrate it, but you know what it is. Some have Hanukkah and others have Kwanzaa. Hanukkah is for the Jews who celebrate the victory of the Maccabees over the larger Syrian army. While with Kwanzaa, people light a kinara and give gifts to each other. This takes place over seven days. Isn't that nice? Seven days of celebration! Christmas however… Is a single day. With Christmas, the children believe in a big, old, jolly man in a red suit called “Santa Clause”. On Christmas night he comes down your chimney, leaves presents and take the milk and cookies. For one thing, that's breaking and entering and for a second thing, he leaves unknown gifts?! You don't know whats in there! It

Father Christmas, also known as Santa Clause, is there to help the children. He is aware of the battle that the children are going to encounter and wants them to be prepared. Instead of giving the children gifts, Father Christmas gives them tools for battle. This is very similar to the bible story of the Holy Spirit giving spiritual gifts to all believers, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed…” (1 Corinthians 12).

But I think that parents concerned with harming their relationship with their kid may discover the revelation of the ruse opens their children’s eyes and helps them see their parents in not a bad but different light. The discovery of the Santa Myth leads to important steps towards maturity like realizing your parents are people, just like you, and aren’t infallible. Having your parents share the truth about Santa and also share their personal discoveries of the myth can actually bring parents and children closer through the realization that they’ve both gone through the same experience. It also brings a new appreciation for parents’ efforts.

Belief in Santa Claus is good for developing children’s creativity. According to Mertens, the author says that “As children’s brains develop, so do their reasoning skills and imaginations.” Children think of Santa Claus’s figure, how he comes to their house, and when he leaves gifts. They also think about that logically. For example, if there is no chimney, a child could imagine that Santa Claus enters his or her house from a window. These processes can help children have visions of what they think. “Children exhibit a form of magical thinking by about 18 months, when they begin to create

And of course, no discussion of Christmas would be complete without talking about of one of the holiday’s most famous representations: Santa Claus.