The Wanderer's Site

I am non-Christian, but I grew up with a Christian family (Catholic, to be exact). So I also used to have notions about that fat guy who gives gifts to nice children in Christmas they call Santa Claus. Every Christmas, I would go with the other children in my Lola's compound, wearing my newly bought, neatly pressed dress and behave in the best manner possible, believing that if I do so, Santa would give me a gift.

I used to do the same thing every year, although, I found no hints that a fat guy in red came and gave me a gift. And although I received a lot of gifts, I knew that they didn't come from Santa Claus. But I kept on believing. I feel happy each time I see a "Santa hat", boots, belt, socks and red velvet trousers. I also wrote letters to the guy and told him what I want. I even remember asking God in one of my prayers to tell Santa if he could give me some sort of a non-tangible gift. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" even became one of my favorite Christmas songs. I also asked the question "Where does Santa Claus live?" and imagined where he parks his sleigh pulled by his red-nosed reindeer Rudolph when he lands.

As I grew up, I realized, however, that there are a lot of controversies about Santa's existence. There are groups who argue that the concept of Santa Claus capitalizes Christmas and makes many people forget the real reason for the occasion. I came to establish then, that Santa is a legendary character, and the concept of his existence is used to pacify kids throwing tantrums.

Legendary as it may seem, I came to love and appreciate the lesson behind believing in Santa Claus. Because if we believe in Santa Claus, we know that "he sees you when you're sleeping", "he knows when you're awake" and "he knows if you've been bad or good". I love the concept for whether or not Santa Claus exists, there is still the Supreme Being who knows everything about us. Whatever we may call that Supreme Being, and whether it is Santa Claus or that Supreme Being who will do it, it is important to note that good deeds are rewarded. And so we have to "be good for goodness' sake".

How I wish we could translate and apply the lyrics of this song in a manner that would be understable and doable for adults.

So now, does Santa really exist? Based on my Santa story, I believe that he is a legendary character. But his lessons are real. And I wish to retract the first statement I made in the second paragraph of this essay. There is actually a hint that he gave me a gift. His gift is the very good lesson that I have to be good. This is my Santa Story