PAVAMĀNA: Enduring Indic Wisdom

Santa Claus – logical or magical?

Bala Bharadvaj, 22 December 2024

Approx 7 minutes reading time

Summary

The magical story of Santa Claus is widely told and re-told by countless adults to instill the joy of Christmas in their children, even though it may seem illogical to some. Similarly, in the teachings of sanātana dharma, the purāṇa-s serve the purpose of conveying profound principles through storytelling. During such moments, the enchantment of the occasion surpasses the bounds of scientific reasoning – the magic of the moment trumps the logic of science.

The big question

It’s the day before Christmas, and the children are excited because they had heard that Santa was coming (Story of Santa) and would bring presents – all those wonderful toys and gadgets that make their appearance on TV these days.  But the children are also anxious, because some older kids at school are saying that there is no Santa Claus, and nobody comes down the chimney to bring presents.  If the older kids are right, what happens to all those goodies we are eagerly waiting for?  The little ones have a conference between themselves and finally decide to confront their parents with the all-important question.

“Daddy, Is there a Santa Claus? Will he bring presents?”

A parent’s answer

How should the parent answer the child?  Should I (the parent) take the scientific approach and tell the child that Santa is a hoax?  Should I modify the story of Santa to fit modern times?  Should I stay with the old narrative?  Many thoughts are racing through the mind.  Various options are emerging. 

Option A: I look around the house and notice that the apartment doesn’t even have a real chimney; even a skinny Santa can’t get through, let alone a jolly good well-rounded Santa.  Even if he manages to squeeze through, how does he go back?  All this is not realistic in the present times, so the idea of a Santa makes no sense logically.

Option B: As people introduced to “modern scientific methods” we want to see data and proofs before we accept any idea.  In this context, the idea of a Santa cannot be scientifically justified either since nobody has seen Santa, or the idea of someone flying on a sled pulled by flying reindeer cannot be aerodynamically justified for an aerospace engineer.

Option C: This is a difficult question. May be best to deflect it to the wife. Just tell the toddler to go ask his mother!

Option D:  Grow up and become a parent to a cute child full of eagerness and hope.  As a parent, I can’t let my little boy or girl down.  How can I bring my half-baked adult perspectives to dash the hopes and dreams of the little one with those curious eyes in front of me? 

Many of you face this dilemma when you are the parent of a small child.  I have gone through this myself.  Here’s what I did.

I decided to set aside the engineer and architect in me and became a parent to the child.  I justified my answer by convincing myself that ‘I am not lying but simply creating a fantasy world for the child’, and said to the child, “Yes, there is a Santa Claus, and He’ll be coming to our home also.”

Child: “Daddy, Will he bring presents?”

Dad: “Yes, Santa has already messaged me that he’s bringing presents for you.  But we have to wait till Christmas morning to find out exactly what they are.  But remember, Santa brings nice gifts only to ‘good children’.”

Having received the assurance, the toddler goes away to continue the dream and wait eagerly for Christmas morning.  And I was feeling pretty good about having made my toddler happy and reinforcing the message to the little one about the importance of being a ‘good child’.

While this conversation between the Dad and the toddler was going on, mother was watching and nodding in support of the father’s story. 

A twist in the tale

An elder sibling was also listening.  She had been recently introduced to ideas of Scientific Thinking in school and had started developing her doubts about the validity of Santa and the reindeer, etc.  She had also learned that the North Pole was a barren place not inhabited by people.  She was thinking to herself how the same Dad had told this story to her a few years earlier, and she believed it! However, now she knew better, and wanted to have some fun with Dad.

Sister: “Dad, Are you sure about the Santa story?  Do you really believe in Santa Claus?”

This is a twist in the story I had not expected.  But my background in vedānta comes to my rescue!  After some thought, I was ready with my answer.

Dad: “Yes, Dear.  I am sure about Santa Claus. 

“But my Santa is not like the one you see in the malls and movies.  He represents a spirit which has miraculous powers.  The Santa Spirit brings gifts to the world, shares joy among the people, and blesses us through His magic.

“Whether or not he wears a red jacket, lives at the North Pole and flies on a sled drawn by reindeer, whether Rudolf has a red nose, all these details are not very important.  What he creates around the world during that one night is magical, and I believe in that magic.”

I continued, “Santa does not do all these things by himself.  He is the spirit that is able to spread through multitude of humans and convert them into his helpers (Santa’s elves) for the days and weeks before Christmas.  The magic of Christmas is created by these human elves filled with the Santa Spirit.”

The elder sibling’s doubts are quelled for now.  She doesn’t question my explanation.  She is happy to know that Santa will be bringing some gifts on Christmas morning for her also.  She even helps organize some milk and cookies for Santa to be left by the Christmas Tree; just in case He does show up!

Now, it is many years later; my children have grown up and are telling their own version of the Santa Story to the next generation of toddlers in their lives.

Reflecting on the Deeper Meaning

The lesson learned from the story is that just like Santa, there are other spirits in the world that we refer to as deities in sanātana dharma.  For instance, we have Lord gaṇapati who consumes the modaka-s and blesses us with His gifts.  These gifts may not come wrapped in boxes with colorful wrappers and bows but come in other forms.

For those whose minds are child-like, the stories are a great starting point to direct them to become ‘good children’ so that the Santa Spirit or Spirit of gaṇapati will bless them.  For those who want to be grown up, they must do homework, learn about many related ideas, and think more deeply about why our parents, and their parents, considered it appropriate to introduce and propagate these stories (purāṇa-s).

The stories only dramatize concepts for all of us to grasp some important ideas.  Those who want to question the story have to become grown-ups and be prepared for more intellectual gymnastics.

Let us look at the stories in the purāṇa-s with an open mind; we may discover ideas that make us think differently.

My guru (Swami Chinmayananda) often used to tell us to “Think”!  He was exhorting us to not simply accept the stories and someone else’s words at face value, but to think and come to understand and assimilate the ideas contained in the stories.  I request you to do the same, with the Santa story and other stories in the purāṇa-s.

Come, join me on this journey, and let us think and learn together!