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Despite knowing the sad truth, Christmas can still be a magical time
By: Ben Daugherty
Almost every person I’ve talked to has believed or still believes in Santa Claus. Parents everywhere perpetuate this lie in order to achieve the “holiday spirit”. The same parents that teach their kids to never lie, are lying to their kids’ faces to get them to look forward to Christmas. Santa seems all fine and dandy until one day: the day you find out Santa isn’t real. The day you find out that you’ve sat on some random dude’s lap at the mall for nine straight years.
I found out Santa wasn’t real when I was eight, and Christmas has been gradually worse ever since. Finding out about the lie that is Santa was devastating.
I vividly remember the day it happened. I was at my grandparents house waiting for the “real Santa” to arrive, as I always did. That particular year, I realized that Santa was either my brother or he was fake.
After sitting on his pillow-stuffed lap, I realized my brother definitely wasn’t Santa. It then hit me; my brother’s below-average Santa costume was as real as it would get, and that magically fat man would not be coming down my chimney that year. I was devastated.
Deliberately lying to your children is wrong on so many levels, but the Christmas lie seems to be a special case where lying is acceptable. Without it, the magic of Christmas would be lost.
You can say that you’re looking forward to giving, but you’re truly either looking forward to getting gifts or seeing Santa. The magic of Christmas isn’t lost when you find out Santa isn’t real. Sure, you spend a few weeks, months, or years wondering if you can ever trust again; however, once you get over that, you begin to pass the magic on to younger generations.
The same goes for the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Great Pumpkin, and others. Just because you don’t believe anymore, doesn’t mean the magic is lost.
For people with younger siblings or kids, the Christmas spirit lives on through them. Some of my fondest memories have revolved around Christmas. Whether it was seeing family members I don’t normally see or sitting on Santa’s lap at my grandparents house, Christmas has been nothing but good times.
Christmas is all about family. It is a holiday that brings families together.
Seeing my younger cousins’ faces light up when “Santa Claus” walks through the door of my grandparents’ house, puts a smile on everyone’s face. If all it takes is one white lie to bring an entire family together, I’m in.
Everyone dreams of a white Christmas anyway.
