So. A couple of months ago Dash started grilling me about Santa again, and this time it felt different. Like he knew the truth, but was honestly mystified about why his parents would bullshit him. So I told him. This is what I said:
You asked if Santa is real, and the answer is yes. But not the way you might think. Santa is not an actual magical man that flies his sleigh all over the world to deliver presents on Christmas. Santa doesn't literally come into every kid's house to personally place presents under the tree and eat cookies. Santa is a feeling.
Santa is the sense of love and kindness and generosity we feel at this time of year. He's the reason we spend the Solstice season making sure that our most beloved feel honored and cared for. He's the reason we open our homes to friends and family, and the reason we sing and laugh a bit more and a little louder in December. He's the reason we think more often about those who have less than us at Christmas, and the reason we feel more moved to share what we have with them.
But, Santa's not just a feeling. Santa's also a team. He's a team of mommies and daddies and grandparents. Of aunties and uncles and teachers and friends. We are all on Santa's team, and our job is to share the lessons of love and kindness that were shared with us by the team members that came before. So while Mommy and Daddy are the ones that wrap the presents and light the candles, the feeling of Christmas can only come when the entire team works together to spread love and magic and hope and generosity.
And now that you know the truth, you're on Santa's team, too.And then I threatened him with severe bodily harm if he breathed a word of what I had said to another living soul.
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