Should children be allowed to believe in Santa Claus?

[paintboxgirl]

Santa Claus isn't lying to your kids, per se. It's more of an "imaginary friend" sort of thing. You don't come unhinged if your two year old is talking to Barkie the Invisible Dog (one of my sons' invisible friends) or whoever, so why come unglued about Santa? (Don't get me wrong, if he was 10 and still talking to imaginary friends I'd be worried.) My kids all did the Santa thing (and we're Jewish!) partly because it's so ingrained in American culture that kids feel bad and left out when they don't get to participate in all that stuff. When the kid is old enough to ask you "Is Santa Claus real?" then he's old enough to hear the truth--that Santa isn't some old man in a red coat with reindeer, but more an expression of love. My kids grew up with secular Christmas and Santa Claus. My sister is raising hers with no Santa and no imaginary anythings--no elves, fairy tales, tooth fairy etc. It seems to me that my kids were a lot more light hearted and have richer imaginations than hers.  

[God-Raped-Me]

Ya, mommy and daddy Santa LOVES his milk and cookies! xd  

[Thaliat Everwood]

Agreed. I am not Christian or anything like that, but the tradition of Santa is one of good will and good cheer. I think that is ok to preserve if you wish.

Feel good traditions are a good thing. Letting kids pretend is a good thing. Imagination is a good thing. Why rob a kid of that kind of good imagination?

A kid doesn't have to believe in Santa. There are plenty of other good traditions that could replace Santa if need be for those that do oppose the idea of Santa, but I don't see any reason why my children wouldn't be allowed to enjoy the tradition of Santa, even if they'll be Pagan.

I always thought this kind of question was akin to questioning the existence of certain deities, such as the Christian God or the Islamic Allah (think that's the one)...let them believe in what gives them hope.  

[Kalstolyn]

Technically the Christian God, the Jewish God and the Islamic Allah are all the same deity -- the God of Abraham. Just thought I would point that out. The two more recent faiths branched off from Judaism.

I really don't think there is anything wrong with letting people, no matter their ages, believe in whatever they please. As long as their beliefs aren't directly harming anyone, there is no reason to freak out about it. Some kids believing in Santa Claus certainly won't cause any harm. Their parents are going to buy them things they don't need and turn them into good little corporate consumer clones with or without Santa. They might as well exercise a little imagination on the way.  

[Taeryyn]

I still get a small gift from "Santa" each year, and I know I love how excited my little sister gets for Santa. =) It's "lying" the same as playing pretend is "lying". It's a nice imaginary thing.

Santa was not created by Coca-Cola; only his current image and the heavy influence on consumerism was their doing. =/ Father Christmas is who he's based on, and his part in the holidays varied from culture to culture.  

[Thaliat Everwood]

Kalstolyn

Technically the Christian God, the Jewish God and the Islamic Allah are all the same deity -- the God of Abraham. Just thought I would point that out. The two more recent faiths branched off from Judaism.

*snerk* xd *has to wipe tears from eyes from laughing so hard*

I forgot about that! Yet they seem so often to thrive on opposing one another.

True as it is, I bet many of them would deny it just the same. Cut of the nose to spite face and all that jazz. Too funny!  

[kittyzero]

Yes  

[Reiku Alche]

Why not let your kids believe in Santa? It's basically the same thing as having them believe in whatever deity that you may or may not worship. I can't really see the harm, unless you're especially financially unwell as a parent. . . I'd go on, but then I'd just be ranting.  

[Nici la Fey]

No I didn't say Coke created the WHOLE IMAGE of Santa Claus, there was the idea before coke was around. But what I'm saying is that Coke gave him the "image", like he was a guy that gave gifts but Coke gave him the image of "Santa Claus". I knew he was real before Coke.

Believing in a deity is a little different. We believe our entire lives, no one comes along and tells us he's/she's not real. That's a choice we make for ourselves. With Santa Claus he was just a figure to represent the spirit of Christmas, then your parents tell you he's not real and you still believe in that spirit. Almost like you need a guy to bring you gifts in order to believe in the spirit of Christmas, when in actuality you can instill the ideal without idolism.

Look, I'm not saying it's the worst thing in the world, people do it all the time. But if you can go without the troubles of hurting your kids feelings and gettting them to have that spirit, I say go for it.

That's all I'm saying. I'm not trying to offend anyone or your religion, I just want to know other people's takes on this.  

[pickle relish]

I beg your pardon, but I do believe Thomas Nast invented the current image of Santa Claus: the fat guy with toys and a fuzzy red jacket. It was also due to his comics that Santa was mostly known by the name Santa Claus. In fact, he did a political cartoon during the Civil War, in 1863, titled "Santa in Camp." Norman Rockwell also has some paintings that show a figure similar to what Nast drew; many of them have "Santa Claus" in the title. That was in 1920, a good ten years before Coca-Cola came out with their "marketing scheme."

These two may not have been the earliest to make the current image of Santa Claus, or to call him Santa, but they sure as heck were earlier than Coca-Cola.  

[Nici la Fey]

Santa Claus became popular with Coke.  

[pickle relish]

Nope, sorry. He made appearances in department stores as early as 1870, according to This source. Not to mention a few others.
Coca-Cola wasn't even invented, much less turned into a company, until 1894. For confirmation, try this source.  

[Sanzoskitsune]

Actually Coke became more popular with Santa, they used Santa to boost their sales during the winter when they had didn't sell as much.