How old were you when you discovered Santa wasn't the real deal? I was six, and I think my analytical, "enquiring" mind, as people referred to it at the time, was already having existential doubts, because I went to my brother, four years my senior, and asked him:
"This Father Christmas thing, is it really true?"
And I got the dread response, no, it wasn't. Something died inside me that day and I was never quite the same again. I never really trusted my parents from then on, and why should I have? They foisted an untruth on me, a ridiculous one at that, and my plastic, childish mind took it all on board without question. After that I was far more cautious about what they, or anybody else told me, and I was right to do so.
Why do parents do this? Why do they want their children to believe in a piece of hokum that they know to be false? To put a little "magic" into their lives would I suppose be the commonest answer, but why? Is it because there is something lacking in their lives, especially in a world where religion, in the west at least, takes a back seat to vampires, zombies and Marvel comics Avengers? I have an alternative: Why not tell them about the wonders of the Universe, something far more amazing and wonderful than any myth?
Despite this, the whole Santa Claus culture remains undeniably fascinating, having a great deal to do with spiritual faith. Like God, we are invited to accept the existence of an invisible, yet omnipotent being. He clearly has God-like powers: he can deliver a present to every child in the world in one night, a feat that makes feeding the five thousand look like a cheap party-trick. He can look into our souls too:
He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake
Even more than that, he knows if you've been good, and whether your conscience is clear. Is Santa Claus God? Discuss. And when you're done, have a good festive interval.
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