Fo Shizzle, Virgizzle
17
Here’s how I see the whole ‘believing in Santa Claus’ thing.
I remember finding out (via some skank bitch) in 3rd grade that there wasn’t a Santa Claus. My first reaction was to be mad at my parents for ‘lying’ to me all those years. In retrospect, though, I am glad they did. Not believing would have made me feel left out, and I remember much more fondly the Christmas Eves of my childhood- trying hard to fall asleep, wondering when he’d come and if I get that one thing I really wanted (I usually didn’t, because we were pretty poor, but it never stopped me from believing).
With my own kids, I have two (15, 11) who ‘KNOW’ and two (6, 4) who believe. Last year, when my then 10 year old still hadn’t said anything but I knew there was no way she could still believe, I actually said “You don’t still believe in Santa Claus anymore, do you?” (I’d like to thank the academy for my shitty mom of the year award…). There’s a point where they don’t believe anymore (thanks to some schoolbus douchehounds) but they are afraid to say anything for fear of coal in stocking.
My six year old told me this year that there was a girl at school who didn’t believe. I told Faith “She’s not going to get good stuff then” which is a really asswipey answer, but I am not ready for her not to believe (I mean, her NAME is Faith, she can at least believe til 2nd grade!).
When my kids get old enough, I whip out my copy (saved from the newspaper years ago) of Francis. P. Church’s famous editorial Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus from the September 21, 1897 edition of the New York Sun.
I tell them a little girl named Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor asking if Santa was real, and the newspaper answered her. So here it is, a copy of the actual clipping from the 1897 paper (courtesy: Newseum) for all of you to enjoy, because I still believe and dammit, so should you.
I still love that one too. My 10 and 8 year old are still believers, despite the nasty chick on the bus (Vika) who has filling their heads with reality. That just so pisses me off.
My 8 year old still believes and I love it.
I have a good girlfriend who told me that she is never going to admit that there is no Santa. She is afraid that the “magic” of Christmas day will be gone once she actually comes out and says that Mommy and Daddy are the ones who give the gifts. I am pretty sure that I will take the same approach. I won’t lie to my children and keep telling them that Santa isn’t real, but I will tell them that I still believe. After all, the magic of Christmas lies in your heart. Right?
Jenn Finn: Right. Thanks for saying it so much more eloquently than I did! (I keep telling you: you need a blog!)
JenG: on my way over there to bitchslap Vika.
Kids or no kids, Christmas just isn’t the same without a little magic. I’ll believe in Santa until the day I die. To give up Santa would be to give up hope. Without magic, there are no miracles and in turn no hope. No one should have to live that way.
Great blog and that article is perfect! Although I think 8 year old Virginia will need a thesarus to understand the WAY over her little head answer. geez.
My parents kept the spirit of Santa alive, and I kinda remember how cool it was, but my older brother was thrilled to ruin the magic for me when I was 6 or 7 yrs old. The Santa secret doesn’t last long when you have 5 siblings – and the older ones are just waiting to destroy any and all excitement and joy you have regarding Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. In our house, the tradition was that once it was ruined for you, you got to ruin it for your younger sibling. I think I destroyed my little brother’s fantasy world when he was 3 or 4.
This was one advantage to my son being an only child, I was so excited at the idea of keeping the spirit of Santa alive for him until he found out when he was 35 or whatever – since he had no older siblings to take pleasure in destroying it. But it didn’t last as long as I had hoped.
I did the “if we leave cookies for Santa, he will leave you a thank you note in return!” tradition with my (now 13 yr old) son, and he loved it. But one year – when he was in 4th grade – he came to me on Christmas morning and asked me to sign a blank piece of paper. A few minutes later he shouted “I KNEW IT!” Apparently he conducted a handwriting analysis and discovered that um, Santa and I had the same crappy handwriting. So I ‘fessed up and told him everything. He seemed more relived than upset, I guess he had been suspicious for years…
So how did I keep my little Sherlock Holmes from not being the douchhound who ruined Christmas for the other kids on the bus and in school? Simple: “if you tell any of your friends, mommy and daddy won’t buy you presents”. It worked like magic
Beautiful post. Kind of wishing journalists still wrote like that! I think my 8 year old is at that stage where he WANTS to keep believing, but isn’t quite sure. I think I’ll read this to him. Thanks for sharing.
My daughter (6-1/2) told me that a girl at school told her there is no Santa. I told her that if you don’t believe, you don’t get presents. My mom told me that was a shitty thing to say, but I don’t care. She is SIX! She’s too young to know the truth, right? LOL
How have I never read that whole thing before? Thanks, nifty one. I’m feeling far more chipper now.
People who don’t believe get underwear for Christmas..and not the nice lacy kind either.
Very cool. I don’t think I’ve actually read this letter before. How awesome that you have a copy.
While my son was growing up I always answered his questions very honestly…questions about sex, drugs, school, girls, whatever. I wanted him to know that he could talk to me about anything and I would give him the most honest, open answers possible. Then when he was 10 he asked me if Santa Claus was real. I absolutely could not bring myself to tell him the truth and hemmed and hawed all around it. I knew it would change Christmas for both of us. He is 19 now and I still haven’t answered that question.
My 10 year old… I think this year she is pretty much certain there is no Santa, but we haven’t discussed it really.
Stella, on the other hand, is 3 1/2 and doesn’t seem to care much who brings the presents, as long as someone does.
What a great post. I distinctly remember the little paste-eating douchebag who told me there was no Santa Claus in 3rd grade, forcing my parents to come clean. Of course I didn’t believe him, he ate paste. LOSER.
I love the letter- it made me tear up.
I never let on that I “knew” because I was a big sister, or maybe it’s because I doubt that I really “know” anything.
I believe too.
I hadn’t read this in years. Thank you so much for sharing it. I think we all, now more than ever, feel a need to believe in something, even if that something is only Santa Claus. It’s the act of faith that raises our spirits, not its object. I posted something along the same lines today. It seems to be in the air.
Merry Christmas Mary…
I love that letter, and will use it on my own if I need to! They are 5 and 8, and still believe.
JennFinn, nicely put! and Jade – not all older siblings ruin it for their younger ones. My latest blog post is about exactly that – the fact that I kept it going for my little brother. http://creative.spayce.com/holiday/i-believe.html
I don’t know when mine will start asking about it, but I do know that some girls in my 8 year olds class have said things about it. My daughter thought that they were silly, and I agreed with her.
I hope they believe for as long as possible, and then I also hope that when one finally twigs, that she doesn’t spoil it for the other one first chance she gets.
I’d never heard of this letter but it’t beautiful! I love the holidays because it is all about believing and giving.
Santa is magical and I want to make sure that my little Sophia believes.
I loved waking up on Christmas day to find all those presents that Santa had brought!