I know that Christmas season has passed, but I overheard a conversation in the lunchroom today that surprised me. Two faculty members were discussing their holidays and where they spent Christmas Day. Like my family, one of these guys spent Christmas Eve night away from home so they had opened presents ahead of time. He joked about needing to let Santa know when they would be home so that the presents could arrive. The other guy said, "Yeah, my 10 year old still says she believes in Santa, but I'm not sure if she really does." I think I could guess. Do any middle class 10 year old kids believe in Santa? How could that be possible?
We never made a big deal of the Santa story in our house. I don't know if my sons ever believed in Santa. We weren't as bad as the mom in Miracle on 34th Street, we didn't completely eschew any fairy tale or make believe stories. But, it was pretty hard to explain Santa's journey.
I've heard friends tell of the devastation they felt the year they discovered that Santa was not real. I had no desire to perpetuate that kind of build / up-let down cycle in my kids. Santa was a nice story, and maybe there was some magic to the season, but the logic was just too strong against him.
But, I ran across a quote from a middle school teacher's blog a few days ago. It really caught my attention regarding the transition from childhood to young adulthood.
"Middle school: It is a wonderful/awful time of transition that is both thrilling and bittersweet. As the innocence of childhood slips away, you can't blame young adolescents for longing for one more year of magic. They may hide behind their blasé masks of indifference, but they still want to be surprised. They still want to believe. "
So, even though Santa may not be real, I agree we could all use a little belief in magic in our lives, a little hope for surprise.
1 comment:
As I'm enjoying what may be our last fire of the year on my last day of spring break, I've finished reading another year here on Random Thoughts.
I think I can answer the question you asked, "Does any middle class 10 year old still believe in Santa?" I've taught in the public schools for 31 years, and I've spent almost all of those years with 10 year olds. I'd say that while they don't really believe in Santa, they sure don't want to admit that... just in case... they're so close to growing up that they want to (at least pretend to) hang on just one more time.
I will say that Elf on the Shelf and all the escapades caused by him/her in each house in December has become so popular that Santa is almost secondary.
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