Psychological Treasure: How to Tell Your Child the Truth About Santa Claus

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First in the video: Why do we decorate the Christmas tree with balls?

Hanging colorful balls on our Christmas tree is a tradition. But where does this custom actually come from?

How do you explain to your doubting child how Christmas presents work without robbing them of the Christmas magic?

When the postman brings the third, fourth or fifth package, many children wonder why mom and dad order so many things? And if all of this happens just before Christmas, children of a certain age will definitely be suspicious and ask whether Santa Claus actually exists.

In such a situation, good advice is expensive. You don't want to lie to your children. But you don't want to take away the beautiful fairytale world about Christmas and Santa Claus. And that's exactly where the letter from a mother comes in, whose daughter has discovered that it's not Santa Claus who brings the presents, but her mother.

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One day little Lucy asked her mom in a letter: “Are you Santa Claus?” Mom Martha took a little time to answer, but then wrote her eight-year-old daughter a letter in which she found honest, but still very beautiful words .

“Santa Claus is much taller than any person”

Dear Lucy,
Thanks a lot for your letter. You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa Claus?”
I know you've been waiting for the answer for a long time and I just had to take my time with the answer to find the right words.

The answer is no. I'm not Santa Claus. There is no Santa Claus.

I'm the one who puts the presents under the tree. I pick them out, wrap them up and put them under the tree, just like my mom did for me and her mom did for her. (And yes, Dad helps too.)

I imagine you doing this for your kids one day, and I know you'll love seeing them running down the stairs on Christmas morning. You'll love how they sit under the tree and their little faces are lit up by the Christmas tree candles.

But that doesn't make you Santa Claus.

Santa Claus is much bigger than any one person and his work has been around longer than any of us. What he does is simple but very impressive. He teaches children to believe in what they cannot see or touch.

This is a huge task and a very important one at that. Throughout your life, you will need the ability to believe in something: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents, and in your family. You will also have to believe in things that you cannot measure or hold in your hands. I'm talking about love - the great power that will light up your life, even in the darkest moments.

“Santa Claus is a teacher”

Santa Claus is a teacher and I was one of his students and now you too know the secret of how he manages to come down all the chimneys at Christmas: he has help from all those whose hearts he once filled with joy.

With all our hearts, people like your dad and I help Santa Claus do a job that would otherwise be impossible.

So no, I'm not Santa Claus. Santa Claus is love and magic and hope and bliss. I'm on his team and now you are too.

I love you and will always love you.

Mama

We think the words are really beautiful. They put giving in the right light. It's not about consumption or having the newest thing, it's about giving joy and love.