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Is Santa silly?

Arran

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?

Parents

  • Unfortunately what we miss out on is the importance of lying in social dialogue. NTs use non-verbal signals to indicate that they are intentionally lying for effect, and may likewise unintentionally give away a lie when trying to deceive. Of course some NTs are very good at lying and it is hard for other NTs to spot this. Which then becomes crucial in card games.

    Lying is an essential skill for an NT. Unfortunately because people on the spectrum cannot read situations properly, the capacity to lie is alien, and even if they do become disposed to lying they are less likely to be good at concealing it.

    It is understandable that people on the spectrum would get very principled about lying. But it is not difficult to find a parallel NT culture with the same vulnerabilities. In the 17th century various religious sects emerged that tried to be the epitomy of honesty. These very groups became ready victims of the witch trials which, even if evidence of witchcraft was found, mostly ended up as people settling old scores and exploiting the vulnerability of people trying unrealistically to be truthful always.

    Lying is something children have to learn about. It is vital for survival.

    People on the spectrum are not able to do this properly, and the fact is until comparatively recent times someone on the spectrum probably wouldn't have survived childhood, or if they did it would have been as a simpleton in other people's eyes.

    This debate on the morality of lying can go on for pages, but it still doesn't alter the fact that it is only people on the spectrum (and a few narrow religious sects) that are at all bothered. 

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  • Unfortunately what we miss out on is the importance of lying in social dialogue. NTs use non-verbal signals to indicate that they are intentionally lying for effect, and may likewise unintentionally give away a lie when trying to deceive. Of course some NTs are very good at lying and it is hard for other NTs to spot this. Which then becomes crucial in card games.

    Lying is an essential skill for an NT. Unfortunately because people on the spectrum cannot read situations properly, the capacity to lie is alien, and even if they do become disposed to lying they are less likely to be good at concealing it.

    It is understandable that people on the spectrum would get very principled about lying. But it is not difficult to find a parallel NT culture with the same vulnerabilities. In the 17th century various religious sects emerged that tried to be the epitomy of honesty. These very groups became ready victims of the witch trials which, even if evidence of witchcraft was found, mostly ended up as people settling old scores and exploiting the vulnerability of people trying unrealistically to be truthful always.

    Lying is something children have to learn about. It is vital for survival.

    People on the spectrum are not able to do this properly, and the fact is until comparatively recent times someone on the spectrum probably wouldn't have survived childhood, or if they did it would have been as a simpleton in other people's eyes.

    This debate on the morality of lying can go on for pages, but it still doesn't alter the fact that it is only people on the spectrum (and a few narrow religious sects) that are at all bothered. 

Children
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