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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> When did you stop believing in Santa?
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12/06/2005 03:46:13 PM · #1
Any memories 'bout that?
12/06/2005 03:47:26 PM · #2
i believe
12/06/2005 03:48:56 PM · #3
Somewhere around grade 1. Apparently, I told the class there was no God and no Santa and they were more concerned about the no Santa bit.
12/06/2005 03:51:04 PM · #4
Originally posted by mesmeraj:

i believe


Good for you!

12/06/2005 03:51:11 PM · #5
Wait.... There's no Santa?????
Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO........

Next you'll tell me there's no Easter Bunny :(
12/06/2005 03:51:56 PM · #6
Originally posted by Ombra_foto:

Wait.... There's no Santa?????
Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO........

Next you'll tell me there's no Easter Bunny :(


That's another thread, sorry! :)
12/06/2005 03:56:42 PM · #7
Dear Editor--I am 8 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.'
Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon
115 West Ninety-fifth Street


Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.


I believe! -danny
12/06/2005 03:58:08 PM · #8
I do. I was about 7 years old, and my dad dressed up as Santa. I did not recognize him, but when I saw him I was totally terrified of this scarey, big guy with a huge beard. I started screaming at the top of my lungs. My mother tried to calm me down, but nothing worked, so my dad had to take his custome off in front of me to make me stop screaming.

I still don't much care for Santa.
12/06/2005 03:59:41 PM · #9
Originally posted by Montague:

Any memories 'bout that?


I'm too old to remember that. :)

Rose
12/06/2005 04:07:34 PM · #10
Originally posted by Montague:

Originally posted by mesmeraj:

i believe


Good for you!


people that dont believe in santa get maxed out credit card bills for christmas.
12/06/2005 04:11:02 PM · #11
My family never did the "Santa" fantasy. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
12/06/2005 04:14:05 PM · #12
Originally posted by crabappl3:

I believe! -danny


Me too! :)
12/06/2005 04:14:23 PM · #13
Why would I stop believing, is there something I should be told?
12/06/2005 05:05:20 PM · #14
When I recongnized by parent's handwriting on the gift tags.

I forget how old I was, though
12/06/2005 05:10:23 PM · #15
Originally posted by Ombra_foto:

Wait.... There's no Santa?????
Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO........

Next you'll tell me there's no Easter Bunny :(

Dang, I was just going to pull this one but you beat me to it :-)
12/06/2005 05:14:17 PM · #16
Bah Humbug -> I'm pretty sure the credit card company will not believe me when I disbute some charges in Jan but if they do accept these as Santa charges rather then me then I believe :-))
12/06/2005 05:33:11 PM · #17
Vividly.
I was six and had started losing teeth. To my delight, the tooth fairy began trading 50 cents for each one left beneath my pillow. One morning I reached under the pillow to discover not two cold, thick quarters, but the same dry tooth from the previous night.

In a panic I summoned my mother from her sleep and proceeded to malign the tooth fairy. Her startled words escaped before she was able to shake off the fog of slumber. "Oh Crap! It's on the TV." Sure enough, there was the coveted silver (Quarters were mostly silver back then) waiting atop the television. "Why did she leave it on the TV? Doesn't she want my tooth?..." A fountain of questions hissed through the hole left by my missing tooth. Still groggy, my mother stumbled over her words "Darn it, I fell asl.. I mean she must have fallen asleep, or she was really busy and didn't have time..." My mom was a terrible liar; and even at six I could easily discern her falsehoods. I relented until she finally confessed that the tooth fairy was make-believe. I wasn't very concerned, as she promised to make up for it by leaving me 75 cents for each tooth afterwards.

However, it didn't take long for the wheels to spark into motion in my little brain. "Mom, wait a minute. If the tooth fairy isn't real, that means Santa Clause is fake too, doesn't it?" She tried to lie again, but I would have no part of it. I mourned for a brief moment, then raced off with the single minded goal of ruining it for my little brothers too.

Message edited by author 2005-12-06 17:34:51.
12/06/2005 05:37:17 PM · #18
I saw rudolph when I was little!!!

Now that I am older I think it must have been the red glow of the neighbours car tail lights.
12/06/2005 05:39:33 PM · #19
Originally posted by crabappl3:

Dear Editor--I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.

[i]Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the scepticism of a sceptical age.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
I believe! -danny


Well done.. I've never stopped believing ;) tis a magical wonderful twirly world!! I dont pretend to understand it all but I believe in magical things..and Santa is magical.. if you doubt.. just look upon the glowing smile of a childs face.
12/06/2005 05:40:43 PM · #20
I was about 9 and my wish list just got so big my mom had to tell me... lol ... I still have big wish lists, but noone to depend on to bring the gifts... Man, I wanna be 8 again.
12/06/2005 05:44:32 PM · #21
The Real Santa Claus

This is what Christmas should be all about. I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb:

"There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumour has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

Off we went to Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days.

"Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's. I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.... I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbours, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.

Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he had no coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.

(a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible)

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes.

That night, I realized that those awful rumours about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

And I still have Grandma's Bible, with the coat's tag tucked inside: $19.95.

~author unknown
12/06/2005 05:46:40 PM · #22
I think I was almost 11 and having doubts on my own, but then I found all of "Santa's" special wrapping paper in the corner of the basement, and that sorta' clinched it for me.
12/06/2005 05:49:22 PM · #23
Originally posted by ClubJuggle:

The Real Santa Claus
...
And I still have Grandma's Bible, with the coat's tag tucked inside: $19.95.

~author unknown


Now that's inspiring - made me grin like a fool reading it! Thanks for sharing!

Message edited by author 2005-12-06 17:49:54.
12/06/2005 06:06:46 PM · #24
There was one year in particular that was the crux of the belief in Santa for me and my sister, Sarah. I was about 7 years old and Sarah was about 5. Every year for Christmas we always received some presents from Mom and Dad, some from Grandma and Grandpa...and of course the coveted packages: From Santa.

But this year (Christmas 1987) was something of an exception and nearly ruined the holidays for my little sister. We gathered around the tree at the insane hour that only young children come awake on Christmas morning and inspected every single parcel under the tree. By the time our parents woke up and joined us, we had nearly organized and separated by name almost every present.

My sister had become increasingly agitated through the whole sorting process and finally broke into tears when my parents stumbled bleary-eyed into the living room. Of course my parents were concerned and asked her what was wrong.

"I didn't get anything from Santa!!!!" she cried and wrapped her arms around Mom's legs.
"You didn't? Oh, I'm sure that's not right," Mom replied as she walked to the tree.

Sure enough, there were presents from members of the family, but nothing marked From Santa.

You see, my Mom had always wrapped the presents and always took care to mark some as if they came from that Jolly Old Elf. But THIS year she'd been swamped and asked Dad for help. Mom had wrapped mine and Dad had wrapped Sarah's--and neglected to write Santa's name on anything.

The only thing that saved it was the fact that there were a handful of gifts that hadn't made it under the tree, which Mom quickly marked with the one name Sarah wanted to see.

But, as for me, at 25 years old--I still believe in Santa Claus. Admittedly, it is more in the spirit that he embodies and the spirit of the season in general. And even if I never see a set of reindeer tracks on my roof, and even if all my cookies are untouched come Christmas morning--I will still believe. For me, it's just better to live in a world where the idea of kindness and generosity exist :-) And, like many others have said here--it's always fun to play Santa yourself :-)
12/06/2005 06:08:51 PM · #25
since i was born jewish... haha.

on another note, my brother, brandon had told one of my friends younger brothers that santa claus wasnt real. Ruined it for that little kid haha
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