Letters to the Editor
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the magic ended for me
when I heard someone go into my sister's room as I sleepily sensed someone else lifting up my pillow under which I'd placed my tooth.
My sister hadn't lost a tooth, so I figured out it was my parents. It was a short step to not believing in Santa or the Easter Bunny after that. I was eight. Some kids I knew had stopped believing even earlier.
Your child must have unusually compassionate friends to humor her when she talks about Santa. I hope she can keep them as she moves into adolescence; youngsters with that much sensitivity and tact are to be cherished indeed.
Are you positive she really does still believe? I convinced many an adult I was a little off, or had a "rich fantasy life," in reality, I was perfectly aware that my fantasy world was simply fantasy. Some kids keep up the pretense because they honestly believe they'll hurt their parents' feelings if they cop to the truth.
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We need a TV Christmas special for the disillusioned
A couple of months back, the Dumpster Gnomes left out for me a recent-vintage HP PC. I turned it into a MythTV box, a sort of DIY TiVo clone.
Anytime commercial-free TV is still a real novelty, and I'm probably watching more crap than I should.
As I'm writing this, I'm also watching the end of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," which I'd digitally recorded earlier this evening. It's just one of several old-time favorites I watched this season, out of nostalgia and curiosity. I also recorded "The Polar Express," a bizarre elaborate epic that seems to be trying to become a classic.
Most of these specials are "just so" stories, but several, including "Polar Express," are essentially religious tracts. BELIEVE! BELIEVE IN THE MAGIC!
This might be nice for kids starting to wonder. It might help them tamp down those doubts for another season. Maybe that's a good thing. But you know, it's really kind of creepy watching the full creative powers of Rankin-Bass and modern CGI go all out to invest in a myth that the folks responsible know darn well is a fairy tale.
We really need a holiday special for kids who have just learned the truth. Something to help them understand about giving, and grow up a bit.
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Maybe
Maybe she doesn't believe but is afraid to admit it and spoil it for you guys. Seriously. It's a game that adults have played with her for years and she might be afraid you'll be disappointed if she admits she's in on it. That's what happened with my son.
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You are better at relationships than math ...
... I am the opposite.
Anyway, we KNOW that the digits of pi do not repeat because not only is pi not rational (the ratio of two integers, proved in 1761 by Lambert), but it is trancendental (not the root of a polynomial with integer coefficients), proved by Lindemann in 1882.
Pi has been computed to over a trillion (1,000,000,000,000) digits.
See wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi for lots more.
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Santa believers
Our oldest child continued to believe in Santa until his 12th year. His younger sisters had figured it out, and they told him he was stupid. His friends told him he was stupid. We finally told him, at the end of February just before he turned 13, that Santa was the ideal of giving and receiving. Of course he knew it. He just wasn't ready to give up the ideal for the reality. And he still is not ready to make that trade. In his mid-20s, he continues in his work and his life to strive for an ideal that makes all our lives better. His dad and I are proud of his professional work and personal choices. Plus, he gives the most thoughtful Christmas gifts of anyone I know.
Maybe LW's step-daughter is a kindred spirit. Cary gave some good words of advice. Treasure the ability of one girl to balance a dream with what is real, and enjoy the Christmas magic this year. Time enough for change next year.
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I'm 38 and I still believe in Santa Claus...
I don't remember how old I was when the beans were spilled that there isn't really a jolly, fat, bearded man who piloted a reindeer-driven sleigh around the globe in a single night, dropping down chimneys to deliver gifts to good little boys and girls.
What I DO remember, very clearly, are the many nights that I stayed awake into the wee hours of the morning, helping my mother wrap presents for my little brother and the rest of our family, until exhaustion claimed me and I fell asleep under the soft glow of the Christmas tree.
I imagine that, at some point, I asked "the question", and my dear mother whispered into my ear that there was a Santa Claus. Lots of Santa Clauses. And, to my great delight, SHE was one of them! And if I wanted, I could be Santa, too (or, at least at that age, a Santa's helper)! Was that the BEST Christmas ever or what?!!
My boyfriend tells me that he's never known anyone who loves the season as much as I, and it endears me to him that much more. I love everything about it. Finding and decorating the tree, the music, the baking, the candies and the gifts. Oh, the gifts. There's nothing better than finding that perfect present and wrapping it to keep 'em guessing until the very last moment. These are the traditions that carry me through each season and the rest of the year, long after my wonderful mother passed away.
Some of the other Salon writers advocate sitting your 13 year old down and confronting her with the cold, harsh reality. They say she needs to grow up and abandon silly childhood ideas. Bah, humbug I say! LW, you have a unique opportunity to use reality to empower your daughter. Share the very special secret that she, too, is Santa Claus - she shares in the tradition of kindness, wisdom, generosity and just plain magic that comes along with the title.
She sounds like she's most of the way there already.
Merry Christmas!
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Faury Tales
As long as most adults all over the world believe in the unproved fairy tale of Jesus, heaven, hell, etc. what does it matter if this child still believes in Santa? If this child already knows the meaning of Christmas, just work Santa into the story. Explain the good and bad, and faith and prayer theories. Compare the Santa and Jesus stories. At the end, up the annty.
Maybe something like this . . .
Sometimes children talk to and write to Santa and then have faith that Santa will answer them. Plus Santa will know if they were bad or good. No one knows how Santa knows what he knows, you just need to have faith. If you were good you might get some presents on Jesus' birthday, delivered by Jesus' ELF, Santa. However, if your family is mid-class or poor you might not get anything even if you were good. No one knows how Santa knows how much money everyone has but he knows. And if you don't have enough money to pay Santa, then Santa just skips you and flies right past your house.
Sometimes people pray and pray and have faith that Jesus will answer them. Plus Jesus will know if they were bad or good. No one knows how Jesus knows what he knows, you just need to have faith. If you were good you might get some presents on Jesus' birthday delivered by Jesus' ELF, Santa. However, if your family is poor you might not get anything.
This where we up the annty.
If you're not good now or some other time in your life, or poor, Santa just skips you. But Jesus, if you tick off Jesus, as the fairy tale says . . . Jesus just lets you burn. Not only will you not get that ipod, you'll burn in everlasting hell . . .
As adults we almost believe the same fairy tale.
keep the faith . . .