Episode 09 - Lying About Santa: Naughty or Nice?

Darron and Jeff talk about the somewhat contentious issue of lying to kids about Santa Claus - why do we do it and what are some possible impacts that encouraging belief in fiction as fact might have on both individuals and the larger culture? They discuss ways adults view the world and relate to kids, the changing nature of cultural traditions, and how we might handle the Santa story in a different way. Stick around after the main show for a special interview with BI's first ever guest, Darron's daughter Lia, who shares some of her thoughts about Santa Claus.

*A note about the audio in this episode - due to COVID this conversation was recorded in a large garage on a brisk 40 degree November Sunday, so there’s a bit of natural reverb, along with the buzz of propane heaters and leaf blowers audible in the background. Like so many things over the past 9 months, it’s not optimal, but we make the best of a challenging situation, and the cleaned up audio is certainly listenable, if not quite up to BI's usual standards.*

Notes:

• 2:09 - The Elf on the Shelf

• 2:24 - Listen to “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” as performed by Bing Crosby (YouTube video) and read about the history of the song and the lyrics

• 3:28 - See “Let’s Bench the Elf on the Shelf” (Psychology Today, 2012) or “You’re a Creepy One, Elf on the Shelf” (The Atlantic, 2012)

• 4:45 - Magical realism

• 10:20 - Hanukkah

• 11:07 - The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

• 13:17 - Menorah

• 13:58 - See the Magical thinking Wikipedia entry and “Why Everyone Believes in Magic (Even You)” (Live Science, 2012) and “Do You Believe in Magic?” (New York Times, 2007) and “All Paths Lead to Magical Thinking” (Psychology Today, 2013)

• 16:02 - See “Cognitive and Social Skills to Expect From 6 to 10 Years” (American Psychological Association) 

• 16:08 - See “Should parents lie to kids about Santa Claus? We asked the experts.” (Popular Science, 2019) which draws on the opinions of philosophy professor David Kyle Johnson and psychology professor Cyndy Scheibe

• 16:32 - Jean Piaget 

• 16:48 - According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, “The concrete operational stage is the third stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. This stage, which follows the preoperational stage, occurs between the ages of 7 and 11 (middle childhood and preadolescence) years, and is characterized by the appropriate use of logic. During this stage, a child's thought processes become more mature and "adult like". They start solving problems in a more logical fashion.”

• 18:15 - See “What should I tell my kids about Santa?” (BBC, 2018) or “What psychologists really think about you lying to your kids about Santa” (Washington Post, 2016) or “Should parents lie to children about Santa?” (EurekAlert, 2016)

• 21:04 - See “Against the Santa Lie” which is a blog post by David Kyle Johnson that contains the hate mail he received based on his Op-Ed piece “SORRY, VIRGINIA…” (Baltimore Sun, 2009)

• 22:46 - See “How the Bagel Became the Most Famous Jewish Food” and “What Is Lox?” (My Jewish Learning) 

• 31:51 - See “Santa Claus: Real Origins & Legend” (History.com) and “From St. Nicholas to Santa Claus: the surprising origins of Kris Kringle” (National Geographic)

• 32:07 - See the Saint Nicholas and Sinterklaas Wikipedia entries - Santa Claus evolved from Dutch traditions regarding Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas, a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, and patron saint of children). When the Dutch established the colony of New Amsterdam, they brought the legend and traditions of Sinterklaas with them.

• 3:47 - The Protestant Reformation

• 3:12 - Krampus

• 33:33 - Originally published anonymously on December 23, 1823, the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore, changed Santa from a figure who was, until that time, traditionally depicted as a thinner, less jolly, horse-riding disciplinarian, a combination of mythologies about the British Father Christmas, the Dutch Sinterklaas, and the fourth-century bishop Saint Nicholas, into the cheerfully chubby, magical, gift-giver, complete with his eight reindeer, with whom we are now well acquainted. Moore claimed authorship of the poem, which is popularly known today as “Twas the night before Christmas” in 1836, but this claim is now in question and many believe the author was actually the writer Henry Livingston. 

• 33:38 - Using imagery from the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” the famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with creating the first illustrations of Santa as we know him today. In total, 33 of Nast’s Santa drawings were published in Harper’s Weekly from 1863  to 1886. In addition to his Santa contributions, Nast’s drawings of Uncle Sam, the Republican Party elephant, and the Democratic Party donkey, among others, are widely credited as forming the basis of popular depictions used today. For more see “A Civil War Cartoonist Created the Modern Image of Santa Claus as Union Propaganda” (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018) and “The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Thomas Nast’s Santa Claus” (Daily Art Magazine, 2019)

• 36:10 - Trivial Pursuit

• 36:44 - For the complete history of Rudolph see “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (History.com)

• 36:54 - The “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” TV special was created by Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment and released in 1964, and although it is at this point undoubtedly considered a Christmas classic, it is not universally beloved as some of its plot points and themes are questionable by today’s social standards. For more on this perspective see “Don’t Subject Your Kids to Rudolph” (The Atlantic, 2020). To hear the noise his nose makes, check out this video. 

• 37:11 - Listen to “Run, Rudolph, Run” by Chuck Berry (YouTube video)

• 38:35 - The Christmas window, a special window display designed for the Christmas shopping season, is a tradition established by Macy’s who debuted an animated shop window in 1883 - For more info and pictures see “Holiday Windows - The Wonders of Christmas Holiday Windows” (Victoriana Magazine)

• 40:52 - Capitalism, consumerism, and consumer capitalism

• 41:25 - See “Gift exchange” (Britannica) - “Gift exchange may be distinguished from other types of exchange in several respects: the first offering is made in a generous manner and there is no haggling between donor and recipient; the exchange is an expression of an existing social relationship or of the establishment of a new one that differs from impersonal market relationships; and the profit in gift exchange may be in the sphere of social relationships and prestige rather than in material advantage” - and “The History and Complexities of Gift Giving” (Reporter Magazine from the Rochester Institute of Technology) 

• 45:06 - See the Feast of the Seven Fishes Wikipedia entry or “An Eye-Opening Look at the Feast of the Seven Fishes” (Saveur Magazine, 2018) or “The Origin of the Feast of the Seven Fishes” (Eataly)

• 45:56 - Listen to “The Two Cultures” episode of the the Context podcast from November 2018

• 46:08 - Listen to Beautiful Illusions Episode 04 “Too Cultured”

• 48:30 - See “Is It OK To Lie About Santa And The Tooth Fairy?” (NPR, 2019)

• 52:50 - Google Santa Tracker

Darron and Jeff talk about the somewhat contentious issue of lying to kids about Santa Claus - why do we do it and what are some possible impacts that encouraging belief in fiction as fact might have on both individuals and the larger culture?