2008 Woodie Awards
News of no Santa can be traumatizing
Marcus Meade
Last updated: 12/7/06 at 8:21 PM CST Section: The VIBE
This holiday season will bring many children all the things they've asked for. A shiny red bike, a Barbie or a brand new pair of shoes will be placed under trees for lucky boys and girls.
But some kids will undoubtedly receive something they didn't ask for-news that their all-knowing magic man, Santa Claus, doesn't actually exist.
It can be traumatic.
"It's kind of a sad day I think…It was always something fun to believe in, and then, when you find out it's just your parents; it's kind of disappointing," said Deb Benakis, graduate assistant at Northwest.
Benakis' sister broke the news to her when she was around 7-years old, a young age when compared to a few ages discussed on the Femalefirst.co.uk, a Web site devoted to female parenting, discussion boards. Some of those posts suggest parents tell their children the truth about Santa Claus as late as 13-years-old.
Although the illusion dies for some, others choose to continue the tradition.
Patricia Lucido, professor of chemistry and physics at Northwest, has continued giving presents to her now adult children under the names of "St. Nicholas," "Santa's elves" and "Santa's reindeer," to name a few.
The legend of Santa Claus is originally a Dutch legend brought to this country in the 1600s. He has taken many different forms since then, his most well known taken in the Clement Clarke Moore poem, "A Night Before Christmas," according to The-north-pole.com.
The-north-pole.com went on to explain that while Moore played a part in the description of Santa, it was four decades after Moore's poem when illustrator Thomas Nast added the nuances of his round physique, shop at the North Pole and giant list of the naughty and nice.
After telling her children the legend of St. Nick, Lucido also implemented a unique idea for presenting gifts.
"We started giving them presents based on the epiphany, the three wise men. Just little things like books…things like that," Lucido said.
Lucido's children are now grown and have children of their own. This gives her the opportunity to bring the legend of St. Nick back for a new generation.
But some kids will undoubtedly receive something they didn't ask for-news that their all-knowing magic man, Santa Claus, doesn't actually exist.
It can be traumatic.
"It's kind of a sad day I think…It was always something fun to believe in, and then, when you find out it's just your parents; it's kind of disappointing," said Deb Benakis, graduate assistant at Northwest.
Benakis' sister broke the news to her when she was around 7-years old, a young age when compared to a few ages discussed on the Femalefirst.co.uk, a Web site devoted to female parenting, discussion boards. Some of those posts suggest parents tell their children the truth about Santa Claus as late as 13-years-old.
Although the illusion dies for some, others choose to continue the tradition.
Patricia Lucido, professor of chemistry and physics at Northwest, has continued giving presents to her now adult children under the names of "St. Nicholas," "Santa's elves" and "Santa's reindeer," to name a few.
The legend of Santa Claus is originally a Dutch legend brought to this country in the 1600s. He has taken many different forms since then, his most well known taken in the Clement Clarke Moore poem, "A Night Before Christmas," according to The-north-pole.com.
The-north-pole.com went on to explain that while Moore played a part in the description of Santa, it was four decades after Moore's poem when illustrator Thomas Nast added the nuances of his round physique, shop at the North Pole and giant list of the naughty and nice.
After telling her children the legend of St. Nick, Lucido also implemented a unique idea for presenting gifts.
"We started giving them presents based on the epiphany, the three wise men. Just little things like books…things like that," Lucido said.
Lucido's children are now grown and have children of their own. This gives her the opportunity to bring the legend of St. Nick back for a new generation.
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