Now that the Christmas season has passed it is safe to write about Santa Claus. During a holiday luncheon there was a discussion about children and when they stopped believing in Santa Claus. I was amazed when one woman mentioned that this year her daughter admitted that she no longer "believed." I did some rough calculations in my head, and said, "Isn't your daughter like 11 years old or so?" Turns out I was right. Could an 11 year old be expected to still believe in Santa? In this world?
I didn't think my sons every really believed in Santa. We never made a big deal of it--or of the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, or other mythical creatures. I wouldn't say we went as far as the mom in "Miracle on 34th Street." We read lots of fairy tales, told stories, wondered at the magic of life and story. Still, I just couldn't get excited about creating this imaginary world of creatures who did good or evil things to kids.
I asked my boys about their memories of Santa. They admitted that they had, for a time, believed in Santa, but that they didn't remember any great shock when they realized the story wasn't true. It seemed a reasonable conclusion and a natural outgrowth of their maturity. They figured that by 5 or 6 they had lost their belief.
What purpose do those stories serve in our society? What types of myths do we continue to believ in about people, events, and motives?
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