Christmas here at Gordon is always a vibe. Lights around campus, beautiful tree decorations, hot cocoa packets disappearing from the dining hall, and Mariah Carey emerging from whatever frozen cave she lives in for eleven months of the year. But this year, I started wondering about something that has always been fascinating to me. I never fully understood the idea of Santa Claus. Who is he? Why do cultures believe in him? And when do people stop believing? So, I began to ask myself: Do you still believe in Santa Claus? What I found was less about reindeer and sleigh bells and more about what belief actually means as we grow up.
I talked to students, professors, and even looked into some cultural history I find fascinating and alarming. The responses were surprisingly honest, sometimes hilarious, and definitely worth thinking about as we head into the holiday season.
“At some point, I just saw the wrapping paper…”
Kenzie, one of the students I spoke to, described her childhood Santa story. At first, she believed wholeheartedly that Santa came down the chimney, ate the cookies, and somehow remembered exactly what she wanted every December 25th. Didn’t we all?
But then reality hit her in the most ordinary, unmagical way possible.
“As I got older,” she said, “I started noticing my parents suddenly buying a bunch of wrapping paper around Christmas time. Like… a suspicious amount.”
That moment when curiosity and observation collide is something a lot of us relate to. Many kids don’t stop believing because of dramatic revelations; it’s usually because Target receipts start revealing the truth. Just like Alison, so many kids end up asking themselves, “Why is Santa’s handwriting the same as my mom’s?”
“We didn’t do Santa, but we did gifts, period.”
Mari grew up in a household where Santa just wasn’t a big part of their traditions, or a character that showed up in their holidays at all.
“I don’t really think I believed too much in Santa,” she said. “But the idea and culture were all about gifting at Christmas. Maybe Santa was a representative of Jesus’ gifts in a way.”
It’s a cool perspective: you celebrate, you exchange presents, there’s excitement, and that’s enough. What’s interesting about this is that joy is still there just without the myth. No elves, no reindeer, no man flying through the night. Just family food and love.
It raises a question: Do you need Santa for Christmas to feel magical? Or is it really about the people you celebrate with?
Parent’s point of view: How important is it?
I asked Professor Dan, who’s also a dad, whether teaching kids to believe in Santa is important as a parent. His answer surprised me because it was neither super sentimental nor super cynical.
“It’s really not that important,” he said. “When I grew up, I figured out Santa wasn’t real pretty early, and my kids figured it out too when they got older. My wife and I would always exchange gifts and ask each other what we wanted, and I think that’s how the kids caught on.”
The funny part was what happened with his daughter. She told him confidently:
“I know Santa isn’t real… but the tooth fairy is. Because I just lost a tooth.”
That moment says everything: kids choose what to believe based on what benefits them right now. Santa? Seasonal. Tooth fairy? Immediate financial return. I guess parents don’t always need to create belief, kids can invent their own.
Trevor Noah and Dutch Santa: When belief gets weird
To zoom out a little, Trevor Noah talks on his show about how in some Dutch traditions, Santa doesn’t travel alone. He has a helper named “Black Pete”, a character historically depicted as his Black servant, usually played by a white person in blackface. How ironic?
Yes, blackface. And somehow, this is the culture and it is just… accepted.
Kids in the Netherlands grow up believing Santa arrives not just with gifts for well-behaved kids, but with a racial hierarchy built into holiday folklore.
Noah jokes about the absurdity of it: “How come Santa is white and his worker is Black? Why is the job division like this?” And yet, for many Dutch kids, it’s simply a culture and a story. No one questioned it.
This example blows my mind. It shows not just how myths differ, but how belief systems get entangled with culture, identity, and even power.
Santa is a universal idea that is also shaped by where you grew up, who raised you, and what stories your society decided were worth telling.
Why ask this question?
The point of asking “Do you still believe in Santa?” is to challenge what we take for granted. In the end, the question isn’t about Santa, but about the beliefs and moments of wonder we hold onto as we get older. Do we abandon that curiosity just because logic shows up with receipts and familiar handwriting? Or do we recognize that belief changes shape from childhood myths to the idea that good things can still surprise us?
I think beliefs don’t disappear. They change.
Maybe now we “believe” in finding joy with the people we love. Or in the hope that things can get better even after a hard year and challenging situations throughout. Or in the small magic of someone surprising you with a gift just because they thought of you.
Santa Claus might not be real, but belief absolutely is. Kids use it to explain the world. Adults use it to survive it.
So, ask yourself again:
Do you still believe in Santa?
Maybe not the guy in the red suit. But maybe, just maybe you still believe in the spark of wonder he represents.
Honestly, that might be more real than any sleigh, reindeer, or flying gift delivery service could ever be.
If belief looks different for everyone, that’s fine. Personally, I still love the Grinch
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