Spoiler alert: If you’re reading this, you likely know the truth about Father Christmas. If not, you better stop here. Because, today’s Needull may puncture your childhood dreams.
As the father of a three year old, my biggest worry in the next couple of days is to get a horde of Christmas gifts for my little one. He already has a list and I am still stuck on the first item. Flash watch… now what does that mean!?! Does he want a watch about the DC superhero or just a watch with lights? I asked him and he just says that Santa would know. With all this trouble ahead, I would lie if the thought of breaking my son’s myth about Santa Claus has not crossed my mind.
In my favour, a couple of spoilsport academics have already suggested that the Santa story can lead children to distrust their parents. In an essay published in the Lancet Psychiatry, they wrote:
“Seeds are planted – Santa might not be real! But adults are not meant to lie … you are aware that they have, so as a child you also consider what else have they lied about. The quandaries of suddenly realising that not all accepted parental truths are that.”
In today’s festive Needull from CNN, you will get to know about the reality of Santa Claus – how the myth came about and the irony of his origins vis-a-vis his current portrayal. I wish I could just forward this link to my 3 year old and spare myself of all the trouble. But, seems like, I still have a couple of years before ‘the wonderful lie’ is exposed.
Needull in a haystack 
