I still remember looking out the window at night—maybe around 9pm— wondering if he was on the way. The sky was dark blue and the evening was quiet. It was a cloudless night, and the stars were brilliant. I pondered the possibility that I might see his sleigh flying across the sky. It would, of course, have been risky to stay awake and wait for a glimpse of Santa. After all, if he knew I was awake, he would pass by my house without delivering his payload. Good judgement prevailed and I snuggled under the sheets and went to sleep. The memory is vivid and magical. I remember waking up the next morning and finding presents under the Christmas tree. It never occurred to me that my parents put them there. It was obviously Santa Claus, and it was magical. All good things come to an end, and so did my belief in Santa Claus. Perhaps it was my school friends who enlightened me, or perhaps it was simply the beginning of a rational skepticism. I do not really remember, but something caused me to question the existence of Santa Claus. It was the end of an innocent and magical belief. Now, many years later, I watch my beautifully innocent daughter enjoying the same mythology that had captured my imagination, and I realize how easily she accepts Santa as real. She doesn’t have the faculty to question the myth. She simply believes what I tell her. Common sense would suggest that belief in Santa Claus causes no problems, and since children grow out of it, there’ s no harm in spreading the lie. But is it that simple? Is it right that parents knowingly implant a false belief in Children? Parents are willingly telling their children lies and asking them to believe in a non-existent entity. The lies they tell their children are not simple white lies either; they are blatant falsehoods, which require parents to construct elaborate hoaxes to maintain the lie. Its fraudulent. Can this be justified? Perhaps the answer lies in the motivation of the parents. Do parents have good intentions? In most cases, it would be fair to say that parents do have the best intentions. They want their children to experience the same magic as they did

A Christmas Question