Santa is real, or, The importance of symbols.

I still believe in Santa Claus. Allow me to explain.

Every year, the halls are decked, cookies are baked, and Christmas specials are watched.

Every year, more importantly, people donate millions of dollars in the form of gifts, food, and volunteer hours.

Make no mistake, Christmas is magical.

What could it be about a season that makes us give so warmly? After all, short of a terrible disaster, such a spirit of goodwill towards our neighbours is hardly ever observed.

I believe that Santa Claus symbolizes all the good of this wonderful season. There is something more than extraordinary in the way that he makes children’s imaginations light up, in the way he makes their eyes widen and their smiles wider.

This is a time of year in which hope seems to be the default state of mind for many. It’s incredible really, that we can spend so much time during the year afraid or stressed or unhappy, yet for one moment, however brief, we can look around or look up and be filled with wonder.

That sense of magic, that feeling of wonder, that inclination to hope, that is what Santa Claus represents, to me and to any other person who wants to believe.

See, it doesn’t matter that Santa is logically impossible. It doesn’t matter that it isn’t possible for a man to fly all around the world in one night and deliver presents to every good little boy and girl. In the context of symbols in general, do details matter at all? What matters is the effect that symbols have on people; in Santa’s case, people are often inspired to be kinder or more patient.

Now, to everyone who is imagining the myriad of ways in which images of Santa Claus inspire people to act in ways exactly opposite of kindness or patience, remember that Santa is a symbol. If I want Santa Claus to be a symbol of hope, he is. If I interpret Christmas as a time of materialism, and see Santa as the manifestation of that, then that’s what he is.

Like so many other things, symbols are a choice. We choose to believe and so we give them power. We choose not to believe and so leave them as a red and white costume.

Would Christmas still be a time of wonder and happiness without Santa Claus? Almost certainly, in no small part because of He who Christmas is eponymously named. But, is Christmas better because of the existence of Santa Claus?

Like I said, it’s your choice.

Editor’s note: I’m incredibly proud I made it through this piece without making a single Batman reference. If you could not help but make the connection, then this is likely the reason we’re friends.

If you have a topic idea, I’d love to hear from you! Suggestions can be made in the comments section or on Twitter @JeremyDeMello.