As an adult woman, I continue to believe in Santa Claus. Why? For the very good reason that my father gave me when I was a small child. I had just reached that tender age of doubt where it first occurred to me to wonder if there really was such a being, and I asked my father about it. I can't remember everything he said, but the part that stuck with me, even to this day, was this: As long as there are parents on this Earth who love their children, there will always be a Santa Claus.
While the evolving myth of the magical elf who emerges in midwinter, and treats children to everything from bundles of sticks to foil-wrapped electronics from big box stores, has many forms and much lore attached, I find the wise and loving response my father gave to be the best description I know of the spirit of Santa Claus as we experience it in the current culture.
I'll take this opportunity to say thanks, Dad, for embodying the spirit of Santa Claus so well.
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