Is Santa silly?

Arran said:

I'm writing this as someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas in either a religious or cultural sense. From a young age I was told that Santa doesn't exist and is just a silly hoax that parents play on their kids. It never affected me in any bad way and neither was I expecting to find wrapped presents mysteriously appear on the morning of the 25th day of December. If anybody in my family received a Christmas gift then it was usually opened on the same day. A downside to this is that even from the age of 4 or 5 I went round telling kids at school "Father Christmas isn't real, it's all made up, your parents buy Christmas presents from the shops" which often resulted in me getting into trouble whenever they got upset. I once had to report to the head teacher after completely reducing a classmate to tears.

Is the concept of Santa a silly nonsense or is it part of the joys of childhood? Do you tell your own children the truth or would you prefer to go along with the cultural norm? Is pleasing one's classmates more important than knowing the truth? What about children at school who follow different religions so do not celebrate Christmas - where do they fit in?

Nothing wrong with Santa or the tooth fairy, in theory.  All just a bit of childhood fun.  

However, with the benefit of hindsight and an adults view of the world, I feel sorry for parents on low incomes, who simply cannot afford to buy this or that latest toy or gadget for their children.  And it gets even harder at this time of year, when Toys R Us and others are advertising their goods during children's television!  

(It makes me glad I am single and not a parent!)

Comedian, Ben Elton, once said that perhaps children's TV advertisements should come with a health warning!...

"Warning!  This advert may be offensive to low income families!"

Arran said:

I'm writing this as someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas in either a religious or cultural sense. From a young age I was told that Santa doesn't exist and is just a silly hoax that parents play on their kids. It never affected me in any bad way and neither was I expecting to find wrapped presents mysteriously appear on the morning of the 25th day of December. If anybody in my family received a Christmas gift then it was usually opened on the same day. A downside to this is that even from the age of 4 or 5 I went round telling kids at school "Father Christmas isn't real, it's all made up, your parents buy Christmas presents from the shops" which often resulted in me getting into trouble whenever they got upset. I once had to report to the head teacher after completely reducing a classmate to tears.

Is the concept of Santa a silly nonsense or is it part of the joys of childhood? Do you tell your own children the truth or would you prefer to go along with the cultural norm? Is pleasing one's classmates more important than knowing the truth? What about children at school who follow different religions so do not celebrate Christmas - where do they fit in?

Nothing wrong with Santa or the tooth fairy, in theory.  All just a bit of childhood fun.  

However, with the benefit of hindsight and an adults view of the world, I feel sorry for parents on low incomes, who simply cannot afford to buy this or that latest toy or gadget for their children.  And it gets even harder at this time of year, when Toys R Us and others are advertising their goods during children's television!  

(It makes me glad I am single and not a parent!)

Comedian, Ben Elton, once said that perhaps children's TV advertisements should come with a health warning!...

"Warning!  This advert may be offensive to low income families!"