Fridaily... already? With Santa Claus musing.

[ellenmillion]

I'm definitely sleeping better again (thank heavens!) and would have been quite happy to stay in bed another several hours - despite a lovely nap yesterday. I did manage to get to the gym AND bellydance class, but was thoroughly pooped by the time I got home from the latter.

The theme for today: painting. I'll be doing the last few abstracts I owe, and some work on the Skykittens, as well as some floor painting, and possibly some trim painting (shall have to see on that last one...). I've got some programming to accomplish, too, and need to send an invoice to a client.

Guppy is apparently learning some new dance moves, and is delighted to show off the Twist, and the Locomotion anytime I sit down.

Today's ponder: did I EVER believe in Santa Claus? I always remember knowing it was really mom and dad. Did you (who celebrate) believe in Santa Claus? Was it a big part of your childhood?

Computer is nagging me to restart to install updates. Fine, have it your way! Off to paint now!

Comments

[ariestess]

I believed, even when I found out. Partially I continued to believe for the sake of my much younger cousins and brother. Partially I still believe because the spirit of Santa/St. Nick is still alive.

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

I did believe that the Christkind visited and brought present at some point, but I don't remember when I found out it wasn't so, or what I thought of the whole deal.

[swirvel42.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I ever really believed in Santa, but I was very caught up in the "magic" of the season. I always spoiled christmas by sneaking about and digging for presents. This infuriated my mother to no end, and I believe she exchanged things if she thought I had peeked.

Connor, however, truly believes in Santa. I love that he believes in it, but it also breaks my heart because I know one day that he'll stop believing. And I worry that I will be the one to break the spell. He does, however, know that the Santa's in the mall are not the real santa.

Smart kid, that one. (He's 6, btw.)

[swirvel42.livejournal.com]

My friend, at the request of her son's father, has explicitly told her now 6 yr old son that Santa is not real. However, despite his parents honesty and truthfulness, he absolutely believes in Santa.

[swirvel42.livejournal.com]

Note: I also really like your idea about the Great Wizard Santa going away from this world, and that people give gifts to keep his spirit alive. That is win.

[moon-fox.livejournal.com]

As far back as I can remember (age 4, if not earlier), I knew it was my parents. Neither of them ever bothered to disguise their handwriting on any notes purported to be from Santa. My dad was also not a nice guy, and I didn't trust anything he said, and he was always the one pushing the mythical holiday characters.

I don't recall it ever bothering me though; I was just a kid, as long as there were presents I didn't care.

[kittrel.livejournal.com]

I did believe, and was very upset to find out he wasn't real. Of course I was also the kid who believed in unicorns and SWORE I saw one in the field behind our house. (Maybe it was an albino deer? Or maybe I was just hallucinating :P It WAS at a pretty good distance... but of course a large white animal going into the woods HAS to be a unicorn, right???) ;)

Anyway, back to Santa Claus. Don't remember what made me stop believing, though kids kinda teasing me and telling me he wasn't real helped. So I promised to myself not to be that jerk-y kid and kept his non-existence a secret from my sister and younger friends. Who knows, maybe they already didn't believe. But I wasn't going to be the one to ruin it for them.

Hm

[haunted-blood.livejournal.com]

Being a pagan and in a pagan family, no. This, however, did not stop my mother writing 'with love, Santa' on tags on the presents, as it brought in the whole wondrous fantasy feeling, or something. :D I always knew the presents were from my parents, but I think it made it more special because no matter what they bought/made me, it was a special thing to give!

[jenny_evergreen]

I did believe, or at least semi-believe, up to about, oh, maybe 8? I had doubts by then, but I wasn't SURESURE until I was 9, I think.
It was never a huge part of my childhood, though. We got a couple of "Santa" gifts every year, and I did the lap sitting, list giving thing once or twice, but I wasn't devastated or anything when I found out; I was, if anything, mildly annoyed by the whole silly subterfuge of it all.

As an adult, I am seriously annoyed by the subterfuge. I really came to resent that we HIDE our own generosity with our loved ones behind this story. I want my children to know that they are given these gifts as a demonstration of love from the real people who actually love them, if you see what I'm saying.

Yes, I have raised the boys in the full knowledge that Santa isn't real. I don't live in fear of their bubble being burst, and they don't seem to have any problem at ALL with embracing the concept that Santa is like Buzz Lightyear...who, btw, they also have spent their lives thinking is INSANELY AWESOME but aware that he is, in fact, fictional. Nor have they in any way suffered for knowing. They have no lack of imagination or spirit or trust or love or openness or whatever it is people seem to think kids who don't believe suffer from.

The biggest problem is getting them to respect that other kids don't know and that it is rude and potentially very hurtful to tell them. However, these days, the conspiracy is broken enough that it seems to me parents have to come up with a cover story for these situations regardless. Still, I do everything I can to ensure they don't burst anyone's bubble, although my mother insists on pointing out every time my kids even mention the fact, whether believers are in range or not. Actually, I think I'll be having a talk with her about this again soon.

[ryokomusouka.livejournal.com]

My son totally believes in Santa, and I've threatened my older girls with severe consequences if they tell him he's not real. No, I'm not looking forward to the time when he finds out, but it's getting kind of tiresome, trying to keep up the image.

The way I handled it when my girls found out was to explain that while Santa, as a person, doesn't really exist, his spirit does, and the true meaning of Christmas is to create magic for other people. In a sense, they BECOME Santa for others.

The way I look at it is that it isn't lying: it's reducing a complex concept into a form a young child's mind can easily grasp.

[ursulav.livejournal.com]

My mother remembered being devastated at the lack of Santa, and so never kept more than a vague fiction about it. My grandmother found this annoying, and more so when she would talk about Santa and Very Small Ursula would say "Grandma, I KNOW it's YOU..."

ETA: Also, I have always found Mall Santas deeply terrifying. This continues to this day.

[frigg.livejournal.com]

Heh...I don't remember if I believed, but I outed Santa to my much older cousin at a very young age. We have Santa visit our house on Christmas Eve here in Denmark, and that year Santa hadn't tucked in the collar of his shirt properly and I remarked on Santa's shirt being the same as my cousin's great uncle. :p

[redokapi.livejournal.com]

I can't recall ever really believing in Santa. I usually found my parents attempts to "uphold the fantasy" rather annoying. I don't recall it being a large part of my childhood, but it might explain why I'm so jaded about holidays in general.

[piotrov.livejournal.com]

I don't ever remember believing he was real. I always knew where the presents came from, and I can't recall my parents ever insinuating otherwise.

But I also grew up usually opening presents on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning, so that probably helped discourage any possibility of Santa belief. Our normal routine when I was a kid would be going to Christmas Eve service at our church and then opening presents when we got home. We could stay up late and play with our toys till we passed out, and my parents could peacefully sleep in the next morning. Everybody wins. :)

[metasilk.livejournal.com]

I believed. I was also an early reader, and read Little House in the Big Woods. There's a bit where Ma talks to Laura about Santa Claus -- real, not so much as a personification as an abstract. The spirit of Santa Claus always there for everyone who wants to... I can't recall ho wshe presented it, but reading this was part of my shift from belief in EntityComingDownChimney to perhaps a belief in LovingkindnessExpressedInGear.... something.

I think my belief was expressed longer also because I had a little sib and I wasn't going to cause disbelief! :)

[tonithegreat.livejournal.com]

I totally believed in Santa until pretty late, and don't recall any trauma in learning any different at any specific point. I vaguely recall running into hidden unwrapped presents somewhere around 10-11 and hoping my mom didn't know I'd run into them and my Dad, who has very recognizable Catholic school perfect penmanship still loves to write Santa responses to notes left with cookies. But I still believe in Santa! It will be fascinating to see what the girls do with Santa. They told my mom last weekend, and the ripe old of age of three, that our Elf on the Shelf doesn't really fly to the North Pole to talk to Santa or move himself and that instead I move him around. Which really surprised me! I don't think they've ever caught me moving him. And they still haven't let on to me or their dad that they don't believe. A Santa came to preschool today and terrified Annie, though they both put on a brave face and climbed into his lap. Mostly to impress their teacher, I think.

[shadows-gallery.livejournal.com]

My parents were always up front about Santa, that he was just a fun daydream and fantasy, because they thought the "big reveal" that Santa isn't real would be needlessly cruel. We did have some fun with disappearing milk and cookies, though, and one year my dad stood outside my window and shook some jingle bells to make it sound like Santa was landing in his sleigh.