Adults Share The Absolutely Chaotic And Gasp-Worthy Ways They Discovered Santa Was A Lie

3.

This one is long, but soooo worth the read. I literally have tears in my eyes reading this:

“My daughter recently turned ten. Last year, around Christmas, she approached me with a question I knew would eventually come.

‘Dad, is Santa actually real?’

I asked her what she thought. I asked if she thought it was possible for someone to visit every single household in the world in one night.

‘No. That seems pretty wild.’

I asked if she thought reindeer could really fly, or if there was a magical factory at the North Pole run by thousands of elves.

‘No, that’s silly too.’

Then I asked if she was ready for the truth. She nodded enthusiastically, and I spoke slowly:

‘You are Santa Claus.’

She stared at me, blankly, trying to process my words. ‘Uhh… what?’ she murmured.

‘Yup. You are Santa Claus now.’

‘What do you mean?’

I explained that by letting her believe in Santa all these years, I had helped her enjoy the holidays even more. I told her it was a responsibility shared by all older kids and adults worldwide — to never break the illusion, so younger children could experience that same magic. And now that she was old enough to know the truth, she was also old enough to carry that responsibility.

I said, ‘The truth is, yes… Santa Claus — the person — doesn’t exist. But the IDEA of Santa lives in all of us, and it’s up to us to keep that magic alive. We play up the story, we drum up the wonder, and we let the magic last as long as we can… until a child is old enough to ask if Santa is real. Now, YOU get to share in that responsibility. And it’s a BIG responsibility! It’s your job to make sure your little brother experiences the same magic you’ve enjoyed for the past nine years. So…would you like to help me keep that magic alive?’

If only you could have seen her face. She wasn’t sad or heartbroken; instead, she had a look of awe and wonder I had never seen before — like she was now privy to a big secret that only she could keep. Now, she asks me how she can make Santa come to life for her brother.”

—u/metalslug53