I’m 40 years old and I believe in Santa Claus

CW — Believing in and knowing the *truth about Santa Claus

CW — Believing in and knowing the truth about Santa Claus

When I was a child, I believed in the fat man who lives at the North Pole and comes down the chimney and leaves presents version of Santa Claus far longer than my peers. My older sister had not believed for a long time but kept up the narrative for my benefit. My parents also never just revealed the truth to me. They let me believe for as long as I needed to and I’m grateful for that. We are a family of storytellers and believing in other-worldly beings is not unusual. For me, Santa Claus was like an imaginary friend; a very real, reliable presence in my own mind that helped me sustain an understanding of a good world. Indeed, the jolly and generous Santa Claus of my childhood convinced me that there is always something good to believe.

I have remained curious and openminded about Santa Claus over the years and my current version of Santa Claus has certainly changed since my childhood. These days, I’m more interested in the historical (real) Saint Nicholas who was born into a wealthy Greek family (geographically, what is now northern Turkey), became an advocate for children, and gave gifts to workers and poor people. His parents died in an epidemic which feels particularly significant these days. It is believed that his human remains are scattered all over the world, serving as holy relics — quite appropriate for a narrative that says Santa Claus travels all over the world bringing gifts to children. I absolutely believe that the life of Saint Nicholas teaches us how we can be of good cheer and glad tidings in our contemporary context. I also believe that all human beings are holy and that some human beings have the ability to show us Godliness in a way that sustains their legacy for generations. Bringing a real person from the past into the present, and giving their story magic is a simple acknowledgement that our ancestors live and work among us.

Over the years, as a parent, pastor, and children’s liberation theologian, I have encountered a trend in which parents never tell their children that Santa Claus is real. In a well-meaning attempt to avoid trauma, I’ve heard parents tell children, “yes other people believe in Santa Claus, but you know the truth,” as though truth is a thing on which adults hold the authority. Sometimes, those truth-knowing children venture off to school and church and scouts and soccer practice and reveal the truth to their otherwise believing friends. In these cases, the attempt to avoid trauma in their own children, often results in the trauma of“other people.” I’ve also seen and heard children engage in really upsetting arguments and fights regarding the truth about Santa Claus. Children who believe beyond a certain age are bullied and criticized for being baby-ish and naive. Sadly, Santa Claus, for many, is a silly myth or even a cruel lie. I disagree.

I really believe in Santa Claus and I really don’t believe that children need to be told “the truth” about Santa Claus.

Children can believe whatever they feel is helpful. If children want to believe something that adults know is factually not true, that’s up to them. In a world of many religions, dogmas, and ideologies, belief in any one thing, even Santa Claus, is not ridiculous, but a right for every human being. Further, it is not lying to tell children stories and it is not unhealthy for children to believe stories, particularly stories of hope and generosity, as real or even factual. It is also not unhealthy for adults to encourage and even participate in children’s beliefs even if they are different from our own. Imagination is a good thing, so is curiosity, exploration, and a playful, dynamic view of the world.

I hear adults struggling with concepts around Santa Claus and using that as their reason for rejecting Santa Claus altogether. For example, Santa Claus is supposed to bring toys to children all over the world and yet many children all over the world live in poverty or are not Christian or are not cultural believers. These are valid concerns and should absolutely inform the Santa Claus narrative. The beauty is that we adults are also allowed to use our own imaginations and be creative in our explanation of these complexities. We can create Santa Claus narratives that work best for our individual families and circumstances. After all, we don’t have to tell children that if they’re bad, Santa Claus will bring them coal and switches. We don’t have to tell children that Santa Claus is watching them all the time. At my house, we don’t have a chimney so for my kids, we have omitted that version of the Santa Claus narrative. We just say, “Santa comes to our house,” and that’s enough. Additionally, to believe in Santa Claus is not to necessarily accept all of the nonsense that slinks through the cultural zeitgeist of capitalism. Santa Claus doesn’t have to be a belief in excess, but rather can be a belief in abundance.

I am a Christian and I believe in Jesus. Does that mean that I believe there was a real man two thousand years ago who brought people back to life and himself miraculously was raised from the dead after laying in a tomb for three days? Does that mean that I believe in miracles? Well, it’s a bit more complex than that. What I believe is that Jesus, whom I access through both Biblical and non-canonical texts, was indeed an extra-ordinary human who performed miracles to exhibit the possibility of human liberation. I absolutely believe in That Jesus. I believe that miracles are the work of human beings creating a better world. I believe that miracles exist as windows into truths beyond our knowing, because there is always something beyond our knowing. Believing in something doesn’t have to mean that we have all the answers or have seen all the human-ordained evidence. We can have and pass on complex and mysterious beliefs.

If I have any advice for talking to children about Santa Claus, it is to try not to squeeze him into one narrative or personality that is or isn’t true. Rather, I would encourage folks to expand the narrative. What is it that you want your children to know about Santa Claus? What is helpful for your particular context? In our house, Santa Claus has multiple skin colors and speaks many languages. Santa Claus can be many things, based on the needs and particularities of individual children and families, and that’s a lovely notion.

The historical (real) Saint Nicholas is a very appropriate model for legend and perhaps should be the entry point for introducing a Santa Claus narrative to children. This website is a good place to start. Once you’ve learned a bit more about Saint Nicholas, determine what is best for your family in terms of what you teach your children to believe about Santa Claus. Ask yourself what you believe and what you believe to be true in this wild and weary world. What in your heart can you conjure in order to both hold onto that truth and share it?

As you explore the possibility that there is truth beyond your knowing, as you hold on to or rekindle your imagination and keep your curiosity intact, honor the child in you that can see something others can’t; the child that knows this world can be good; the child that knows there is enough joy, love, and hope for everyone; the child that speaks unfaded truths; and the child that believes in miracles.

Yes, I’m forty years old and I believe in Santa Claus. My belief in Santa Claus is less about facts and more about curiosity, play, imagination, and a desire to have a dynamic view of the world. It’s about knowing that abundance and generosity are not myths or legends but truths that do in fact exist in our current context. My belief in Santa Claus is a lived practice of keeping my mind open and seeking a world so abundant, so loving, so generous, and so free that only the child in me could possibility believe it is real. I believe in Santa Claus because I know the child in me still needs the certainty that there is good in the world. I believe in Santa Claus because I have heard children express profound truths. I believe in Santa Claus because imagination is not a lie but a manifestation of desired reality and for me, a desired reality of an abundance of laughter, love, and liberation, all around us all the time.