Winston Churchill couldn’t have said it better: “A lie gets half-way around the world before the truth has the chance to get its pants on.”
Believe it or not, the myth of Santa Claus has travelled around the world countless number of times, much more than its reality has had any chance to get its pants on.
Childhood memories
Every Christmas reminds me of my own childhood deception about this event. I was always intrigued by the traditional tale about a mythical figure coming from a remote place in the North Pole, more precisely from Finland.
Clad in red coat and trousers with white cuffs and collar, and black leather belt and boots he is depicted as the magical figure bringing gifts at Christmas for children who have behaved well during the year. This attire fits well to the figure in the land of perpetual snow. In our hot equatorial and tropical zones he would get roasted at this time of the year, quicker than he would get frozen in his region. But that’s not the issue here.
Behave yourselves
Back to my childhood days several decades ago, I always wondered why my brothers and I didn’t receive any gifts, while my cousins got plenty of them: dolls, toy cars and jets, flutes, balls and the rest. At the approach of Christmas expectations were justifiably high. Had we been so bad during the year? Yet, we have been attending schools regularly, reaping good marks at the exams, helping parents in taking care of the younger ones, helping mom with the kitchen chores and well, obeying our parents throughout.
Polish your shoes
My cousins would proudly advise us to polish our shoes to shine on the eve of Christmas and place them under the bed before going to sleep early. Father Christmas, as Santa Claus is often referred to, would come at around midnight and lay the gifts in the shoes depending on how we have behaved. Very early the next morning they’d get up to collect their presents and rejoice.
Sandals would do
But those were the days for constant struggle for our parents. Less fortunate as they were how could they offer us a pair shoes let alone sandals? All we had to content ourselves with was a pair of wooden sandals (commonly known as kharpa, in Bhojpuri) which we’d wear on specific occasions. Better off than us, my cousins would arrogantly add to our naivety: “it doesn’t matter if you don’t have shoes, the wooden sandals would do. But do take care to keep them clean.”
We had no reason not to believe. My uncles would confirm what they said. Better, they’d convince us that all Santa Claus needed was a pair of shoes or in default anything that could identify us during his midnight visit; and we should behave well, be obedient to our parents. We followed their instructions scrupulously and went to bed earlier, only to have a nightmarish night.
The next morning surprise
Our heart pounded as we woke up the next morning. What could Father Christmas have brought for us? First thing: We rushed to our respective sandals. They were intact, exactly in the same position as we left them the previous evening. No gifts, no toys, not even a sweet. Tears rolled off our eyes. My elder brother squeezed me against his chest; grabbed me firmly before murmuring in jerks: “Don’t be disheartened Aman, I think Santa Claus missed our home. Let’s keep fingers crossed at his next visit.” In vain. We thought we’ve been naughty, or Father Christmas doesn’t love us, or he discriminates bringing gifts only to the more fortunate ones, not to the poor people like us.
Children don’t realize. Their parents buy those gifts and place them at the said spot. Today it’s customary to hang it on the illuminated Christmas tree in a dedicated corner of the house.
Our parents must have suffered in silence throughout this Santa Claus chore, for not being able to afford even a symbolic item. How could they with a casual job, a meager income barely enough to feed more than half a dozen mouths?
How many children have been and are still being duped this way? Children believe in everything you tell them, naïve as they are. Instead of getting attracted and cheered, many children are scared to death and even traumatized. Just attend a Christmas gift distribution ceremony, and you’ll never ever want to fake your child. A lie, whatever it is, a half-truth, a hidden truth, a lie by omission, is still a lie and will remain so until debunked.
Tell the truth – save the blame
If we want to put Christmas time in its true perspective with the religious significance it deserves, if we want to be trustful to our children, and if we want them to be more respectful to this event, if we want to avoid stooping too low in their eyes, we need to re-visit our stories and adapt them to the realities of the day. Children cannot be fooled anymore in this era of AI technology. It’s time we rectified if we don’t want them to lose their self-esteem and develop a feeling of mistrust towards us. They know very well that there’s no such thing as the legendary figure we call Father Christmas. He is not a magician; he doesn’t manufacture toys; he doesn’t travel the world in a sleigh pulled by a reindeer. What are planes for after all?
The sad and unfortunate experience I encountered at every Christmas during my childhood has taught me lessons. I didn’t perpetuate this age-old myth. I told my children the plain truth and offered them gifts during broad daylight, not in the dark, and not necessarily at Christmas time. Better, I brought them to choose their own gifts at the shopping malls so that they experience the joy of a real-life event. I’ve done it decades ago. I do it even today with my grandchildren too. A solemn moment of the year, it should not be one where children would believe everything is dependent upon the so-called imaginary evaluation of an anonymous, often scary, mythical figure bringing toys according to his own judgment, toys they might not like at all.
Back then, situation was such that our parents were taken up in the spiral of the myth. They had no option than to perpetuate the story. May the Almighty forgive their naivety.
Let’s be realistic. How long are we going to maintain this false belief?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. May God bless.