Betsy Bailey

This email just came in for my 8 year old from her best friend:

I know it’s not fair. I might get a DS for
X-Mas. Did you know Santa’s not real my
Mom and Dad were talking a bout him last
night.
From,
Paige

Even after that email – and you assume some discussion later that day at school – she is not questioning. We don’t even really promote Santa much these days. We do stockings, but nothing is ever labeled “from Santa,” we don’t do letters to Santa or sitting on Santa’s lap. No putting out milk and cookies. She just has decided to believe. I was the same. I remember sustaining some level of belief internally well until I was 11 or 12!

I remember riding around with my Grandma around our town on Christmas Eve when I was around that age, looking at Christmas lights (an annual tradition) and listening to Christmas music on the radio. Periodically the announcers would do the “Santa tracking” thing and I thought grown up adults wouldn’t go to such lengths if there was no Santa. Even though another part of my mind knew this just really didn’t work rationally.

I was the oldest sibling, though! It’s hard to imagine her more jaded older sibs haven’t spilled the beans, eh? I rather think they MUST have and she’s just persistent in her belief. The power of denial – and the power of believing what we WANT to believe just has to be true – even the most irrational, literal version of the myth.