Now of course, what’s Christmas without Santa? Our parents shared the magic of santa with us as children. I can remember sneaking into the livingroom at night with my sister, where the tree was, so that we could catch santa filling our stocking. We of course just fell asleep, and never did catch him.
I don’t recall the transition between believing in santa, and then finding out he wasn’t real. I can’t remember believing in him, and then not believing in him. There was no crushing disappointment. My parents were obviously masterful in their techniques of sharing Santa with me – I got all the fun, with no negative memories. I myself am torn about how to enjoy the concept of santa in our household. I think santa is a beautiful, magical, fun idea, one that was actually based someone in reality, although I am unsure as to which stories are true and which are myth. All have the same happy message, though, so I don’t waste much time worrying about it.
Just browsing online, there are lots of different stories – you can read one here, here, and here. This is an interesting site on Christmas in Germany – many of our stories, decorations, and customs here in America have their origins in Germany, so this site is a fun read.
I’m not sure how we’ll share the fun of Santa Claus / Kris Kringle with our son when the time comes, but whatever we choose, our goal is give him something fun, inspiring, and magical to believe in and anticipate year after year!
