One viewpoint on the subject is that the whole Santa Claus concept is a great idea. It provides children with the sense of magic that is crucial to the development of young imaginations. Almost everyone can remember the excitement that they felt waking up on Christmas morning and racing to their Christmas tree to see if Santa really did eat their cookies and drink their milk. Parents are also keen to use the "You better be good, because Santa's watching!" threat around Christmas time, an easy way to make children behave. Also, large stores and shopping centers that charge to take pictures with Santa depend on Santa Claus to bring in a large part of their profit. There are also countless movies that are created surrounding the Santa Claus concept (Elf, The Polar Express, and Miracle on 34th street, just to name a few) which are quite profitable. Santa Claus can bring a big revenue to companies and a great deal of joy to children.
Another perspective on the concept of Santa Claus is that it may not be such a good idea. Some question whether or not Santa is an appropriate role model. When you stop and really think about Santa's role in Christmas, it can seem almost creepy. He spies on you all year and if he approves of your behavior, he breaks into your house, leaves suspicious packages in your living room and then he steals your food. Who really wants their child to look up to a guy like that? Also, when children go too far and ask Santa for the impossible, they are hurt and don't think that they are good enough when Santa does not give them what they asked for. Then, when children actually find out that Santa Claus is not real, they go through the traumatic realization that their childhood fantasies about one day visiting the North Pole will never actually come true. When this point comes in a child's life, it triggers the domino effect of then realizing that the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and various other mythical characters are too, fictional.
So the question must be asked once more: Are the joys of believing in Santa Claus worth the pain of knowing that he is not real? Are those first 7 years of magic worth the remaining 70 years of worry? I am forced to admit that no, it is not worth it.
Talia, this is a very interesting exploration of Santa Claus. As I told Amelie, this is what I was hoping for when I assigned this “free write.” I hoped that you guys would look analytically at things that you previously never considered. More impressively, you, like Abigail, look at both the pros and cons of your topic. As you explain, Santa is important for stimulating creativity, developing a moral sense for children, and for generating revenue for corporate America. I don’t think I had even thought of any of those ideas before. Perhaps my favorite part of your post is the straightforward admission that the Santa story is “almost creepy.” Yes, this man breaks into our homes and eat our cookies. As one with several friends who are starting to raise kids, I see parents wrestle with these very ideas. It is worth it? Of course, I always think about the pressure that the non-believing five year old will face when he/she gets to school. Thoughts on that?
ReplyDeleteI was faced with this controversial issue this past Christmas. Having two nine year old sisters it's getting to be about that time in their lives where they start to raise questions about Santa Claus. After a scene in Target in which my sister asked my mother for a magic set two weeks before Christmas. In which my mother told my sister that maybe if she was good Santas would bring it for her, to this my sister proceeded to scream and yell "Mom I know Santa's not real, I know it's you. Stop lying to me" at the top of her lungs. Being in the middle of the toy aisle with young kids and parents surrounding my mom grabbed my sister and stormed out. My mom didn't want my sister's selfishness to ruin Santa for all these little children. Hearing my sister tell my mom to stop lying to her worried her, she started to wonder whether she was lying to her rather than playing along with her Santa Claus fantasies.
ReplyDeleteHaving two sisters who are the same age has also raised problems when it's come to Santa. This year it was made clear that one of my sister's was on the fence about it, and my other sister was still very much so a believer. School has added extra pressure to this situation for my parents. Now they have the worry of who's going to be the first kid to announce to the whole class that Santa isn't real and that they are all stupid for believing. Then that one brave kid who speaks up sets themself up for ridicule for a long time to come. Parents are faced with the choice of telling their kids early, and having them ruin for all their classmates, or waiting and having them find out at school.
Christmas morning is always awkward for me because I'm forced to play along with the Santa idea. Despite my sister's previous episode in Target she didn't raise any more questions. But seeing my sisters wake up at 6 am on Christmas morning and running into my room to wake me up. And seeing my sister jump and yell for joy when she got the zipline she wanted for the backyard made me realize that I do support the Santa Claus fantasy and that I most likely will carry it on with my children.
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ReplyDeleteThe Santa Claus myth has been perpetuated for many reasons – to maintain the magic of Christmas, to inspire the spirit of gift giving, and to simply stick with American tradition. But where did this tradition start? Why do the Christian children of America envision a jolly red-and-white man clambering down their chimney on Christmas Eve?
ReplyDeleteThe modern image of Santa is drastically different from the original myth. Prior to the early 1900s, Santa was either a little red-faced elf or a grumpy gnome dressed in animal skins. In fact, children were more frightened of him than inspired by his kind gift giving. (This fear was probably encouraged by Santa’s broom-like rod, used for spanking unruly kids.) Since then, he has taken on a much friendlier persona. But what happened to so drastically change his image?
During this time, the White Rock beverage company had a revelation. They could secure a huge profit by creating a friendly, Americanized version of Santa, who would gulp down their product and serve as a role model for children. He would drink ginger ale, children would idolize him, and therefore children would drink ginger ale. The logic was flawless. In 1931, the Coca-Cola company expanded on this technique, producing thousands of ads featuring Santa as he knocked back a cold bottle of Coke. For the Coke company, the Santa image was even more potent because he was dressed in their signature colors.
Needless to say, this information reveals the true nature of our modern Santa Claus. He is, in fact, an advertising device that has taken root so deep in our commercialized minds that we don’t even realize his true purpose. Think about it, how many things do you buy because of Santa’s image? Toys, decorations, food, clothing, household goods, coke, and much more. It boggles the mind.
Many Americas do not realize that by perpetuating the Santa Clause myth, they are encouraging their children to be little consumers who will ensure the future of America’s economy by buying their share of Christmas goods. The question arises: should we accept this commercialization of Christmas, or defy it and possibly jeopardize the stability of our economy?
http://www.whiterocking.org/santa.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight Aishling. I’m so far removed from the Santa thing that I forget how it plays out in typical American families. I gather from both Talia and your posts that it’s both frustrating and rewarding at the same time. Caeleigh, your concluding sentence seems pretty drastic. Does the American economy really hinge on Santa? Maybe. The holiday shopping season probably generates a good percentage of a lot of companies’ annual profits. To what extent is Santa responsible for this? I’m not sure.
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