The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Santa Claus

'Tis the season to be jolly. Unless you're a ten-year-old kid who just got their dreams crushed by finding out that Santa Claus isn't a fat, jolly man from the North Pole, but YOUR PARENTS! I had originally written this blog with the mind to bash the myth of Santa Claus, but as I wrote it, I realized that there may be more merit to Santa Claus than I had originally thought.

I won't get into the details on how my own dreams were squashed (that's a novel and a half), but I will tell you this- I was DEVASTATED. Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, EVEN LITTLE RUDOLPH, was a lie. My mind quickly jumped back to the time when my sweet, elderly great-great uncle called me and pretended to be Santa, even knocking on the table to make the sounds of the reindeer's hooves. Even he had lied to me.

I remember watching magicians on TV, amazed and in awe at "magic." My parents had always told me that magic wasn't real; it was just a trick, an illusion. But Santa, he was real. He had a magic crystal ball and could see my every move. Santa's magic wasn't like the kind on TV; he was the exception. He existed.

Now that I write this, I realize my parents weren't lying the whole time. Santa's magic is real...it's within each and every single one of us. The person isn't real. There is no such thing as an obese bearded man who has a glowing reindeer as a companion and a penchant for cookies. But the spirit of Santa, that's real. That's the real magic. It's not tangible, it's not visible, but you can feel it. It's the feeling I get every time I'm with my family. It's the roaring laughter that fills the room every time my dad makes a joke. It's the smile on my mom's face when I buy her that gift that she specifically ordered me not to buy. The magic is real; it's present in each and every one of us, not in a mythical figure.

As I wrote this blog entry, I began to feel grateful for my parents for allowing Santa Claus to be a part of my life. It was a time of innocence, beauty, and wide-eyed wonder. Will I every play Santa for my kids? Probably not. But I will show them the true magic of Christmas- the joy of family, the selfless act of giving, and ultimately, the true gift of Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ, who saved humanity on the Cross. That precious gift beats anything I've ever received from Santa Claus.