Santa Claus, it appears, is now persona non grata in most Portland-area public schools. And you know what? Good. It's about time.
Before I go any further: if you are a kid, who is somehow reading this and also still believes in Santa: Keep reading. I'm about to blow your mind.
Santa Claus is not real. He is a character based on a monk-turned-saint, St. Nicholas. The iteration Christian and secular American children worship is based on "The Night Before Christmas," marketing material and mall visits.
Some people like to argue he's barely a religious symbol anymore, which I'd agree with. He's a symbol of capitalism, a sort of manifestation of our greatest moral value: wealth.
Think about it like this: Santa Claus brings presents to the deserving children of America. You have to be good to get presents, the setup goes. Though in reality, you don't have to be "good" to get presents because there is no Santa Claus. There is only your parents, skulking around after you fall asleep and taking bites out of cookies and sips of milk. So, while children are taught to believe that a mysterious man is dropping gifts off for all the good boys and girls, the truth is only the boys and girls with families that celebrate Christmas and have enough money or credit cards to buy them stuff are getting gifts from Jolly Old St. Nick.
Here's a secret about young children: They do not understand this nuance.
So: Santa Claus is reinforcing the idea that the best people are the richest people. After all, he's an unbiased third party. He's got everyone's name on a list and he's checking it. Twice.
That is just one of the problems with the lie of a chubby man coming into our homes via chimney once a year in the middle of the night.
Imagine if you were a Jewish kid or a Muslim kid or Hindu kid and Santa Claus is all over the classroom and your peers are going on and on and on about how he's going to leave them such awesome stuff on Christmas. There are two options here: A. You know Santa is a lie and you've been sworn to secrecy. So you lie to your friends and you watch adults lie to your friends. Lying becomes normal. Lying is what everyone does.
B: You don't know that Santa is a lie but you do know he never brings you anything. Now how do you feel?
The holidays are great and fun and I, a third generation secular humanist, love Christmas music and trees and lights as much as the next person. I say teach the kids in schools about all the different holidays, expose them to traditions, spin dreidels, sing carols, do it all if you can do it in an educational way and with some remove. But nothing about Santa as if he's real. He isn't real. It may seem mean or anti-whimsy, but in this era when facts seem less and less important, the only recourse we have is to teach kids facts do matter, early, and show them that life can be joyful, even when we know the truth about things.
-- Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052
lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker