Lying at Christmas

Isn’t it weird, when you think about it, that to be considered a good parent at Christmas you have to lie, long, energetically and enthusiastically, to your kids? And support that lie with a lot of careful, expensive hard work?

(Talking about Santa Claus here. )

This year, two people I know hit that moment which comes eventually to every parent, when their child figures it out and confronts them. “Mom, I know there’s NO SUCH THING AS SANTA.”

And the parents were sad. As all parents are in that moment. Because it’s the end of an era.

Now just to be clear, let me say that when my children were young, I lied just as much and as enthusiastically as anyone. I finally got rumbled by the last of my children when Benj started to question me about why sometimes Santa used the same kind of wrapping paper as I did.

It happens, doesn’t it? The kid gets old enough and smart enough to become all sleuth-y. They start to suspect. They work things out. Like if you don’t have a chimney, and you’ve told your child that Santa has a magic key to get inside, the child may examine the key closely and say – “But that key doesn’t fit our lock.”

And then you tell MORE lies to back up the lies you’ve already told, “Well, Jimmy, that’s because it’s a MAGIC key that changes shape inside the lock!”

Strange, when we spend so much time trying to bring our kids up to be honest and keep them safe, that at this one time of year, we lie like rugs and force them to sit on the lap of a weird-looking stranger with an obviously fake beard, and tell that person personal details about their heart’s desire, all without crying or feeling afraid.

And then that the same strange person is supposed to come down the chimney INTO OUR HOUSE and creep around doing stuff while everyone is asleep – and oh, by the way, he also watches everyone all year long. And judges. And writes it all down. Creepy, no?

There’s a good reason for the creepiness – Santa actually has his roots in a Norse pagan figure called Odin (aka Thor), who was a bearded, cloaked wanderer associated with wisdom, death, and judgment. Odin rides through the winter sky during Yule as part of the Wild Hunt—a ghostly procession of spirits and the dead. His job was to observe humanity, reward hospitality, and punish arrogance. Children left offerings in boots or stockings for Odin’s horse, Sleipnir, a custom that maps almost directly onto our modern stockings by the fireplace. It’s from Odin that Santa gets his sky-travel, winter timing, beard, and role as a watcher and judge.

Odin then got mixed up with St. Nicholas, who was a real 4th-century bishop from what is now Turkey. St Nick became legendary for secret gift-giving and care for children. As Christianity spread north, Nicholas absorbed existing winter folk tale expectations: nocturnal travel, moral judgment, and reward for good behaviour. He was the safe, Christian update of the pagan winter figures.

Then there was Krampus, a horned winter demon who accompanied St. Nicholas during the Christmas season. While Nicholas rewarded good children, Krampus punished the bad—sometimes beating them, sometimes dragging them away in a sack. This pairing made the moral logic explicit: reward and punishment arrived together, during winter, from supernatural visitors who came uninvited. Over time, societies got wise to the fact that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to frighten children with monsters. So Krampus got cancelled and Santa absorbed both roles, becoming the sole figure who “knows” whether you’ve been good or bad—but now delivers consequences symbolically rather than violently. It’s all a bit – complicated.

The chimney itself reinforces the whole creepiness theme. In folklore, chimneys are symbolic thresholds between worlds, often used by spirits, gods, or witches rather than ordinary humans. Santa entering through one places him squarely in the category of a supernatural visitor.

Mind you, Coca Cola and the marketing people tried to clean it all up. Over time, Santa was reshaped into a jolly, rotund grandfather type whose authority came from kindness rather than fear. But the sanitization job was incomplete: he still watches, judges, enters homes at night, and operates unseen. Those leftover traits are why Santa can feel unsettling—he’s a domesticated version of a winter spirit, made friendly enough for mass culture but still carrying the bones of something older and more ominous.

And then if you’re Christian, the whole thing becomes a mash-up with Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the nativity scene. And what does Santa have to do with that? Hard to say…Jesus, Mary and Joseph are desert people, and Santa comes from the North Pole. It doesn’t really – GO – does it?

Early Christians focused on Christ’s death and resurrection; Christmas didn’t become a major feast until centuries later. December 25 was chosen largely because it aligned with existing winter festivals (like Saturnalia and later Sol Invictus), making conversion easier. So Jesus’s placement in a snowy, winter setting is already a cultural retrofit.

Even the good old British Christmas tree is a pretty recent German import – Prince Albert, who was German, brought it with him to Britain. In 1848, the Illustrated London News published an image of Victoria, Albert, and their children gathered around a decorated Christmas tree at Windsor Castle. Victoria and Albert were the royal-fluencers of their day – once they showed the Christmas tree as wholesome, modern and family-centred instead of a weird pagan German folk tradition, everyone wanted one.

All of which is just to say – don’t worry too much about getting it all “perfect,” this year. Because – you know – what even IS the perfect Christmas? Over time, all these traditions have just gotten jumbled together, like one of those big squishy balls of all the colours of playdough mashed into one…

So I reckon – we should all feel free to do the same!

With hugs from the Imperfect Farmhouse – (and don’t forget, if you have the sudden urge to ask a gut health question , our Nutritional Therapists are standing by on live chat, 8 am to 8 pm every weekday – they’re trying to stay away from the Baileys and the mince pies, and being busy helps, so do give them a ping!)

Shann.x

Founder/Director Chuckling Goat

The Innovative Entrepreneur Redefining Success, 2025, Enterprise World Magazine