Do you remember how old you were when you embraced the idea that Santa Claus just might not be real? In Sunday's PARADE magazine Alexander McCall Smith wrote an interesting article entitled, "Why We Should Believe in Santa Claus" (http://www.parade.com/news/2009/12/13-why-we-should-believe-in-santa-claus.html). Let me quote from the article:
"...What it does tell us is that there are times when we need to pretend to believe in things we know not to be true. We know that the world is a place of suffering and hardship, and we know, too, that justice and kindness and love and such things will not always prevail against these hard realities. Myths help us to get by. The day they all die and we tell our children exactly how things are, the world will be a poorer, less enchanted place. So don't be ashamed to clap your hands at 'Peter Pan' or act as if Santa exists. He stands for kindness and generosity, and those things are alive and will continue to be alive -- as long as we believe in them."
This article almost sounds like the same conclusion in the newspaper article of long ago, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."
This just encourages me to continue to be a child in adult clothing. I must confess that there is a part of me which would love to continue to believe that Santa does exist. Every Christmas season I find myself day-dreaming of just that possibility and wondering not only how it could be true, but wondering how it would make our world different.
Are you a fellow believer?
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