Dear Lily,
I’ve noticed that my daughter has begun to ask some tough questions: Where do babies come from? What happens after someone dies? Why does mummy have so many ‘special friends’ visiting? With Christmas approaching, she’s also curious about Santa Claus and wonders if he is real. Should I just tell her the truth before she turns 30?
Lily says – Let’s take a closer look at the situation.
Since their birth, kids are led to believe through an intricate parental performance that there exists a jolly figure named Santa Claus who descends the chimney during Christmas, bringing gifts for all the well-behaved children across the globe in his sleigh pulled by reindeer. Ironically, while parents are cautious and suspicious of anyone who comes near their kids for most of the year, in December, children are compelled to sit on the laps of dubious bearded men in disguise, who reek of cigarettes and whiskey, insisting on being called Father Christmas while awkwardly patting their backs. I may seem like a party pooper, but this sends some mixed signals. Then, out of the blue, your parents sit you down and reveal that they have been deceitful all along, and that Santa doesn’t actually exist. You might think shattering the core of your belief system would be sufficient, yet they continue to assert that while they lied about Santa, they were not kidding about Jesus, who really can walk on water and consume 500 fish simultaneously without throwing up and turn water into wine just by thinking. And they expect us to trust whatever other nonsense spills from their deceitful lips? I might compare this to Pinocchio… but he’s apparently just another manipulative fairy tale. So Geraldine, whatever you choose to tell your daughter regarding Santa, just make sure you’ve got your facts aligned first.
Hope that helps!
