Do You Believe in Santa?

I’ll be the first to admit it, and I admit it openly and publicly.  I believe in Santa!

Do you?

Now hold on before you pass me off as another one of those aluminum hat, end of the world seekers.  I really do believe in Santa and I’m not crazy.  Please hear me out (an important thing to do with anyone before you are quick to pass judgement or assume you know what their talking about.)

First of all, do I believe there is a jolly old man with a white beard and red suit who swiftly travels the world delivering gifts to all the girls and boys on Christmas Eve night?  No, not really (unless you are my children reading this, then absolutely…more on my kids and this belief in a minute.  I promise, it will all come together).

Next, am I referring to the story of the monk St. Nicholas in regards to my beliefs here?  Well, not exactly, although I do love both of these stories both for their magic and their messages of altruism. For more information regarding the history of the stories of Santa Claus, check out History.com.  I love this website!

What I do believe in is the spirit of Santa Claus.  The message I mentioned before.  I believe in the spirit of altruism that comes along with the story of Santa.  I believe Santa is an amazing symbol for the compassion, kindness and humanistic aspects of caring for one another.  By seeing Santa, I am often reminded of what he stands for in my eyes and it really does bring out the atmosphere of altruism that goes along with this holiday season.

On that note, I choose to teach my children the stories of Santa.  If they ask me if he is real and if I believe, my answer is always yes, and I’m not lying.  At the ages of my children, they are too young to comprehend the more abstract concepts I have associated with Santa, but Santa is real to them.  Santa is a person; a real, living entity they can relate too, and through that belief I can help to teach them about those abstract concepts revolving around compassion and altruism they may have trouble grasping.  As they get older, I’ll start to explain how I believe in Santa and how it is different then believing in him as a real person, but more of a symbol and spirit of the meaning of the season.

Additionally, I don’t believe Santa is around only during the holiday season, that’s just the time of year people choose to celebrate him.  Rather, he is always around and shows himself every time a person does something showing compassion, giving and love.

Do you still think I’m crazy?  Either way, it doesn’t matter.  This is sort of a difficult concept to write about and I may not have made myself clear.  But what it comes down to is this is a time to celebrate the spirit of Santa and to appreciate all that we can give to others, whether that is in the form of gifts, a smile, love or compassion.  There are many faces to Santa. Which one do you believe in?