Sleigh What?!: Students Reminisce Discovering Santa’s True Identity… or Lack Thereof

Imagine a picturesque Christmas morning. Presents litter the skirt of the ornate Christmas tree that stands proudly in the corner of the living room. Now picture children scrambling to rip open their presents, leaving the wrapping paper and tag that reads “from Santa” on the ground.  

Despite the ideal image of Christmas containing relics of Santa’s late-night visit, many children realize at one point or another that Santa, one of if not the most recognizable Christmas figure, isn’t real.  

Most have an experience at some point where their childhood beliefs previously shrouded in a whimsical blind faith comes to a close, usually starting with figures adults tend to assume the role of, such as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny.  

In a similar fashion to finding out about the Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny, some students found out about Santa from their peers or parents while others did their own investigating.  

One young sleuth, senior Brenden Limon, said when he was nine, he went to his parents’ Amazon account to look at their order history and was greeted with orders that were all supposed to be Santa’s presents.  

“I was already expecting it, but I was still sad,” said Limon.  

Senior Alex Hudgins, however, was met with disappointment in a more traditional way. Hudgins said he learned of Santa’s true identity when he was eight years old. He had stayed up too long and heard his dad moving things around downstairs. 

“It was pretty disappointing, because Santa was like my hero as a kid,” said Hudgins over text.  

Similarly, sophomore Ashton Mallen said when he was six, someone at school had told him that Santa was fake. 

“Who would have the audacity to shatter my heart like that?” said Mallen.  

Other than having the identity of the real cookie-eater and gift-deliverer unraveled, some students have taken the opportunity to joke about the situation. 

Freshman Vivian Holt said she and her friends had gone to visit Santa at his workshop last week and were awkwardly asked to sit on his lap. 

“Then he asked us if we had been good to our mommy and daddy,” said Holt.  

A fine line has been drawn dividing the spectrum of Santa-believers and Santa-deniers among students. 

While some are sad to have found out that their parents were scheming all along, others like Holt feel awkward when being treated like a child as if they don’t know that Northpoint Mall hires a new old man to play Santa every year. 

Interestingly, it appears the more children are exposed to Santa, the more likely they are to believe he is real.  

This means if parents and children frequent places like Santa’s workshop at Avalon, they will be able to maintain the illusion for longer, even if a parent is caught red-handed with sugar cookies at 3:00 a.m.