Monday, December 21, 2015

Santa Claus

Kevin found out there was no Santa this year. At nine, it was probably time. How old were you when you learned the horrible truth? How did you find out?

 And I am wondering what any Jewish commenters' parents told them about Santa. It must be an odd situation all around.

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16 comments:

George said...

What! No Santa? You've got to be kidding me!

8:19 AM
Jerry House said...

What George said. I'm shaken to my soul. Well, at least we still have Krampus.

8:31 AM
Deb said...

I wrote the world's most exquisite comment, never to be rivaled in the history of commentary, and...Blogger ate it! I will attempt to recreate here, but of course the subtleties and nuances of the original are lost to the mists of wherever Blogger puts those lost comments.

I always knew there was no Santa Claus (or, as we called him, Father Christmas). I don't know how I knew, my parents always tried to sustain the magic, but I knew. However, I was never one of those awful kids who break the bubbles of the believers. I never told siblings, cousins, or classmates that Father Christmas didn't exist.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, one of my daughters still believed in Santa until she was almost in her teens. One day, her teacher made an offhand comment, "It's like when you're young and believe in Santa Claus...." Julia was heartbroken (and I'm sure her teacher was thinking, "Really? This kid still believes in Santa Claus?").

8:39 AM
pattinase (abbott) said...

Deb has left a new comment on your post "Santa Claus":

I always knew there was no Santa Claus (or, as we called him, Father Christmas). I don't know how I knew that--certainly, my parents always tried to sustain the idea, but I knew. But I never popped anyone else's bubble: I never told any of my cousins or schoolmates what I knew...and I was always grateful for the gifts under the tree.

The opposite side of the coin is one of my daughters who still believed in Santa almost to her teen years. One day, one of her teachers was talking about something to the class and made the offhand comment, "It's like when you were young and believed in Santa Claus..." Julia was heartbroken (and I'm sure her teacher was thinking, what? This kid still believes in Santa?).


9:33 AM
pattinase (abbott) said...

Here it is in case any vital info was missing, Deb. Sorry about that.

9:34 AM
Jeff Meyerson said...

Well, we never celebrated Christmas (naturally) so it never came up that I can remember. But I don't approve of bratty kids going around telling others that Santa isn't real. There are few enough illusions in this world (unless you are a member of the Republican Presidential field and/or a Fox News true believer).

9:40 AM
Deb said...

I did pretty good, recreating it from memory.

9:52 AM
pattinase (abbott) said...

Welcome, Tim. I will add the link.

10:24 AM
Charles Gramlich said...

I was probably about that age. I overheard my father talking on the phone.

11:09 AM
seana graham said...

Both my parents had very traumatic revelations about this when they were kids, so they never really instilled true belief in us. Nevertheless, my mother still felt she had to sit down and spell it out when we were older, which was slightly embarrassing as we'd known for years.

1:58 PM
pattinase (abbott) said...

That happened with sex in our family!

2:09 PM
Rick Robinson said...

I knew from earliest memory that the presents came from people (Mom and Dad, aunt and uncle) and that Santa was just a "character" representing the non-religious side of Christmas. So the whole Santa, elevens, North Pole was an enjoyable fiction and I loved it, but I don't think I ever believed, so there was nothing to reveal.

2:45 PM
Rick Robinson said...

Damn autocorrect changed ELVES to elevens there. Sorry.

2:47 PM
seana graham said...

Tat might have been Santa at work, Richard.

2:59 PM
Cap'n Bob said...

My older sister tried to burst my bubble when I was 8 or 9 but I held out until I 10 or so. But I kept up the pretense because I had a kid sister 3 years younger.

1:41 AM
Anonymous said...

I was brought up in a bi-cultural household. We had Christmas trees and menorahs, and we children benefitted from all these holidays, with gifts for days.

Yes, my sister and I believed in Santa Claus. But after I figured it out, as the older sibling, I did not reveal the truth to her and we kept up the charade until she figured it out at about 6 or so.

We also had the Easter bunny, woke up to Easter baskets, and had seders. We're none the worse for it. Neither of us are religious but we go with the holiday flow.

I keep up the pretext for a neighbor's 5 and 9 year-olds who still believe. I would never burst a child's dream of Santa or any other fantasy. They learn about life's realities soon enough.

3:58 AM

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