I hope you will forgive - and enjoy - a blog from December 2007. I thought it was a message worth repeating.
Listening to an NPR piece called "Student Reflections in Santa Claus Revelations" (from the youth radio project at Curie High School in Chicago), it was so sad to hear kids talk about when they found out Santa wasn't "real. What they had lost wasn't Santa, it was the wonder and magic of believing!
We never did have to deal with this dilemma at our house. In fact, I love the way we did it. When each child got to the age of questioning, we simply asked, "What do you want to believe?" We explained the consequences of saying out loud what others inferred. We asked if it mattered what was "real" as long as the magic was there. Each child considered the options, often for some time, before they came back and said, "I want the magic."
So Santa, along with the spirit of generosity and giving and magic, lives bright and strong in our house. We talk about it with a twinkle in our eyes, as if we share a secret that is ours alone. When our kids' friends asked if they believe, they'd say, "Well, yea. Don't you?" as they flashed that same knowing smile that invited their friends into the magic. We know the "truth" of course, but there's no way anyone here is going to break the spell. Where would we be without this little bit of magic?
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Comments on this entry
I love it! I was also raised with the same magic of belief. In turn, I have done the same with my children. When they asked about Santa I responded. If you believe he comes, when you stop believing the magic is lost. What do you want to do? Willing to take that risk? This past spring my 12 yr old son pulled a tooth while we were in the car running errands. I handed him a tissue and said, “So, you want to just hand me the tooth now, not mention it to your little sister and we will go get ice cream instead of the whole pillow thing?” He looked at me with total surprise and said… “NO WAY, you mean the tooth fairy isn’t real either?!?!?” Darn, wish I hadn’t popped that bubble!
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