We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. If Santa Claus is that for you, fine. How do I know he didn’t? Not because I’ve never seen him – I’ve never seen Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli and she exists, or at least did as of this writing. order back issues and use the historic Daily Express I’m interested in the things that we are not sure we believe, half believe, believe sometimes but not always, maybe hope we believe but don’t as much as we want to, maybe wish to stop believing but are not sure who we would be if we did. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. In England, the personification of Christmas as a jolly old man – known as Sir, Lord or Father Christmas – began in the 17th century to resist party-pooper Puritans. Science doesn’t tell us what we should think about science. In England, the personification of Christmas as a jolly old man – known as Sir, Lord or Father Christmas – began in the 17th century to resist party-pooper Puritans. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. Santa as we know him may not be real, but the story of the man and the myth is more fascinating than a pot-bellied old man in a red suit crying out "Ho, ho, ho". Santa Clause is not a living person, but to say he doesn't exist isn't true, he's merely a memory and a tribute to a great man. Well, in Belgium and the Netherlands, "Sinterklaas", as it is known locally, is still celebrated on December 6, with a lot of fanfare, including the Saint's eagerly awaited arrival with his Moorish helpers from Spain, where he is believed to have lived. Once upon a time (in the 3rd century), in a land far, far away (Byzantine Anatolia, to be precise), there lived a man called Nicholas (270-345) who was so saintly that the church canonised him within a century of his death – hence, "Santa Claus". And in both, there is something sort of screwed up about the relationship among these parts. Neurobiology – crazy. Like a present-day Talib destroying "pagan" statues of Buddha, Saint Nicholas is also attributed with razing numerous pre-Christian temples, including that of the Roman goddess Diana. The good fortune for Gubler and Glauser is the result of bad luck for whoever the items belonged to, as he or she is thought to have died on a journey through the mountains. Let’s be blunt and call this the liar story. The ontology of Santa Claus didn’t impinge on my life until my son, Ari, was in reception class. In this extract from his new book, Big Bang Theory writer Eric Kaplan explores why the Father Christmas story is passed down the generations, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. She doesn’t talk about it when she talks to other adults, but when alone with her child, she believes. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. She has the Tammi who once believed in Santa but now buys toys from the store, and she has the Tammi who still does believe in Santa. "consubstantial", as God, undermining the Trinity. I want to investigate what the best attitude is to take towards these things, both personally and as a community, and to see if we can come up with something better than screaming at each other (or at the recalcitrant parts of ourselves) “you’re a liar!” and “you’re crazy!”. No wonder American children are screwed up.” I remained puzzled by Tammi’s behaviour. In discussions like this, we are usually ready to have our beliefs challenged and to hear the experts lay down some science. FATHER Christmas is real, but he died 1,700 years ago and archaeologists believe they will soon be able to confirm after testing his pelvis bone. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. But people believe different things at different times and in different contexts. I found this a troubling interaction because I thought Tammi was sacrificing her son’s friendship with Ari, who was real, in order to preserve his relationship with Santa Claus, who was not. Let’s imagine that Tammi goes home and goes to bed. To see how this is so, all you have to do is take any of those explanations above – Marxist, psychoanalytical, neurobiological, or meme – and apply it to itself. Meme theory – liar because crazy. Father Christmas is a belief in something wonderful. ‘Does Santa Exist?’, by Eric Kaplan (£12.99, Little Brown) is out now, Santa Claus and Krampus (devil) on an Austrian Christmas card from around 1910 (Imagno/Austrian Archives), Barrack Obama dances alongside Father Christmas at the lighting of the US National Christmas tree, Father Christmas tastes the 12 ice-creams of Christmas at the opening of Harrods Christmas World department (Getty Images). Last modified on Wed 24 Dec 2008 17.54 GMT. “If we get a date in tandem with the historical date, that tells us that we haven’t been able to disprove that it could have been from that individual.”. I would suggest the point of your life and, in fact, everything. So society is basically divided into two groups of people – the liars and the lied to. newspaper archive. Children at a primary school in Manchester got an unpleasant surprise when a supply teacher told them that Santa Claus did not exist. I’m a kid, so I believe in everything.”. The news follows the discovery of a 4,000-year-old lunch box found in the Alps which experts say is a “special” Bronze Age find. Societies run by conspiracies built on lies are schizophrenic; crazy people lie to themselves. I could think of two possible solutions: For some reason back in the past, children were taught to believe in Santa Claus – probably because their parents thought it was a good way to scare them into being good. Ms Gubler said, after pointing out that the traveller would have had no reason to discard their belongings: “I already feel that something has happened to this person. He was supposed to go to the zoo in early December with his friend Schuyler, and Schuyler’s mother, Tammi, called me up and said she didn’t want her son to go because there were reindeer there, and reindeer, she felt, would lead to a discussion of Santa Claus. That is, she could make fun of Santa Claus all year long until Christmas season and then talk during the Christmas season as if she does believe in the jolly old saint. After all, she buys toys at the store – how can she honestly maintain that they come down the chimney? The part of Tammi that believes in Santa might not even be a part that has access to her mouth.