The actual reason we tell children there is a Santa Claus is to prepare them for being lied to en masse for the rest of their lives, and that their response should be to just passively accept being lied to. amirite?

No, it's not. Santa is a fun ritual that brings joy to children. Not everything needs an evil ulterior motive.

by Micaela19 9 hours ago

Surely we can have fun without lying? I wouldn't want my kids to believe magic dies when their belief in Santa does. There are enough real things in the world to attach our sense of wonder to.

by Anonymous 9 hours ago

Beautifully said.

by Anonymous 9 hours ago

It's just religious indoctrination.

by Careful-Salt 8 hours ago

The church of Santa?

by julietchristian 8 hours ago

More like the Christian church

by Winona97 8 hours ago

Church of cult

by Careful-Salt 8 hours ago

It's not, most people who celebrate Christmas do not even practice religion like that

by Anonymous 8 hours ago

Christmas is just a grift

by Careful-Salt 7 hours ago

It's a wasteful, stressful grift that makes more people unhappy than happy.

by Careful-Salt 7 hours ago

We're a mostly secular family and my kids loved Christmas growing up. And not just the gifts, but the funny rituals, decorations, stories, music, and spending time with other family. It's a great holiday with or without any Christian symbolism or consumerism.

by Broad-Emotion106 7 hours ago

Show me a kid that doesn't like Christmas.

by Careful-Salt 7 hours ago

I'm an atheist and we still celebrate christmas because it's fun and an excuse to pig out and get hammered

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

I just love the colorful lights and the smell of fir trees tbh

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

Sure, I celebrate eid because I happen to live in a muslim society and it's an excuse to eat good food. Doesn't mean the holiday doesn't have its roots in religion.

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

I think it's all terribly wasteful and creates a lot more stressful times for everyone than happy times. The whole thing was made up to move the economy. It's been one big grift since inception.

by Careful-Salt 5 hours ago

I know why you're overly bitter. You just found out the truth about Santa.

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

That he's for insecure people?

by Careful-Salt 4 hours ago

You're starting to sound like a christmas movie villain.

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

Christmas movies are a huge grift

by Careful-Salt 4 hours ago

Yeah but its entirely voluntary and people enjoy it. I get the cynical point of view but if you dont want to participate, no one is making you. The idea that it creates more stress than happiness doesn't make sense when you can just opt out entirely, and the people that opt in obviously are having a great time.

by Filomenacorkery 4 hours ago

It makes perfect sense.

by Careful-Salt 4 hours ago

Religious indoctrination isn't usually done with a plan to end the belief before the kid turns 10.

by Previous_Iron_2467 4 hours ago

Yeah, that's the fkn problem.

by Careful-Salt 3 hours ago

The actual reason I told my kid is because I enjoy the memory of it from when I was a kid. It was nice that I got to believe in magic for a little while.

by Previous_Iron_2467 3 hours ago

I truly respect your positivity. But I have crossed over to middle-aged cynicism. To quote George Carlin: "Inside every cynic is a disappointed idealist." This is the explanation for my cynicism. Your take is beautiful but I'm no longer capable of such idealism. Hold onto it while you can.

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

Sharing All Nice Things Anonymously

by ComparisonHonest 2 hours ago

No, that's not true at all lol. I don't think you understand motive at all.

by SignificantThing 2 hours ago

You don't seem to understand that one person's actions can be the result of another's motive. But you're sooo smart.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

I prefer this reason. that we tell kids lies, like 'good is rewarded', so maybe, just maybe they can work towards making it be true

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

Exactly. ""No. Only grown-ups think like that," said Albert. "You're a selfish little bugger when you're seven." - Hogfather - Terry Pratchett. Children are inherently selfish, so understanding good behavior = material reward is about as good as they'll understand. As they grow and mature, the material rewards will be replaced with immaterial ones; friendship, respect, and community.

by Anonymous 1 hour ago

There it is, the dumbest take I've ever seen.

by Anonymous 1 hour ago

It is not that deep. It is just a cool thing for children.

by Anonymous 1 hour ago

When I realised Santa wasn't real, it didn't take long for me to realise God was a ruse as well.

by Upper_Software2817 48 minutes ago

Yeah this is why I think lying to children isn't necessarily bad. Counterpoint to OP, it can teach children how easy it is to lie to the masses.

by No-Objective-9647 18 minutes ago

Yeah so I think it just evens out. Some people believe lies more than others, and that's it.

by No-Objective-9647 3 minutes ago