I Believe

"There's no question in my mind that he does exist. Just like love I know he's there waiting to be missed." -From A Year Without a Santa Claus

Santa Claus is real. I've never seen him. But I have proof. My proof lies in the heart and mind of my daughter. Evidence of his existence can be seen in the excitement, anticipation, and joy of Christmas morning. I've seen it on her face and heard it in her voice. He is most certainly real.

But some people say we're lying to our kids by telling them Santa is real. (Even I joked about it in a recent post.) I've seen several discussions of the subject this week. While I respect everyone's beliefs as much as I expect my own to be respected, I think the people who insist we are perpetrating a fraud against our children need to relax. Kids are smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. They believe what they want to believe until they are old enough to know better. 

Santa is a tradition more than anything else. A tradition based on an actual person who died a long time ago. AN ACTUAL PERSON who was sainted. St. Nicholas. Santa Claus. Christmas, and giving, and gifts, and being good... all of those things don't just happen one day a year. They don't exist in some kind of yuletide vacuum. They happen every day, all year round, and every family handles them differently. 

Santa lives in us. He lives in me and My Director and every other parent who chooses to believe and allows their children to believe. He lives in those children who dare to dream and imagine. Isn't that what we want our kids to do? To dream and imagine? To pretend. 

Believing is about faith. When the time comes, and Peanut asks, I plan on telling her that Santa is real. In spirit. That having faith and believing in Santa means you have faith in me and your mom. The same goes for God. I'm tired of people of faith being ridiculed or denigrated for their beliefs. People of faith are not stupid. They are not ignoring facts. There's a reason it's called faith. It's a journey and it's a long and tough one filled with doubts. I am the first one to admit to having doubts.

My dad passed away almost ten years ago. He may not physically be here, but he still exists. In pictures and video. But more important, in stories and memories. In me. There is a quote from an Indian proverb that I share with loved ones when they lose someone who is close to them: "They are not gone who live in the hearts they left behind." It comforted me in the days and months after my father passed. Still does. Well, it not only applies to my dad, but to St. Nick and Jesus as well.

Kids need faith. They need to believe. They also need magic, and fantasy, and pretend, and Santa. They need to dream the impossible and think it's possible. That's not only what makes us people of faith, but great thinkers as well.

Santa is real. His beautiful spirit of generosity, joy, and love is alive in me. In all of us. You just have to believe.

Peanut helped me believe in the magic again. Click here to read about her first REAL Christmas.