During December, Santa Claus is everywhere: in advertisements, films and stores. To adults, he is a symbol of holiday festivities and a figurehead of Christmas spirit. To children, however, the myth that Santa and his reindeer fly through the sky delivering gifts across the world on Christmas Eve is enchanting and exciting. It’s not just Santa. The Tooth Fairy, Hanukkah Harry and Easter Bunny allow kids to engage with whimsical fantasies, something that is both fun and a key part of brain development, according to Psychology Today.
Childhood is one of the most magical stages of life because of imagination. Fantastical scenarios and playing make-believe can make mundane aspects of everyday life fascinating for children, and Santa Claus falls into this category. Imagining does not mean children are lying to themselves, nor does it necessarily mean they believe the imagined scenarios to be a reality. It falls into its own realm – a realm that adults should encourage due to its cognitive and creative benefits, according to children’s recreation company Miracle. Imagination tends to fade with age, according to the Michigan Daily, with people becoming increasingly serious as they age due to societal expectations and the burdens of adult life. These expectations should not be imposed on children or adults, as they stifle original thinking and innovation. Entertaining the idea of Santa Claus helps foster this spirit of imagination.
Celebrating Santa Claus is a tradition that involves the entire family. Siblings can bond over their excitement and anticipation for their gifts to arrive on Christmas Eve, and parents feel their children’s joy as they open their gifts in the morning. Practicing family traditions and honoring them annually creates a sense of familial identity and connection, according to Nebraska Children’s Home Society. This is especially important in a world where the holidays are becoming an increasingly divisive time for families as opposed to a time of unity due to global unrest, according to The Guardian.
For those parents who fear that telling their children Santa Claus is real might lead to their children experiencing trust issues and feelings of betrayal, rest assured that such emotions will not surface . Once children are older, revealing to them that Santa is not real will likely have little effect on their trust in others or in their relationships with their parents, according to Psychology Today. Also, most young children are extremely skeptical, and more likely to dismiss real events as fictional than to mistake fiction for fact, according to Parenting Science. Therefore, most children are aware, or at least acknowledge the possibility, that Santa Claus is not real. They do not play along because they have been gaslit or manipulated by their parents; they play along because it is a fun, magical tradition that brings them joy.
Lastly, for secular parents who do not want to impose religion onto their children in celebrating Santa, this is not a valid fear. Santa has become an increasingly secular figure, representative of wintertime at large, and even consumerism, as opposed to Christmas in particular. In a modern context, Santa Claus represents the joy of imagination that is innate to childhood, and this should be honored. He is an innocent symbol of imagination and the joy of the holiday season, and he should be enjoyed as such.
