The great Santa deception arguably breaches the ninth commandment (‘Thou shalt not bear false witness’). I think God would cut us some slack
W
hen I was first ordained, an older priest gave me three commandments for a successful ministry: one, try not to upset the flower ladies; two, don’t preach pacifism on Remembrance Sunday; and, three – and most important – never tell children that Santa isn’t real.
If only someone had had that talk with RevDr Paul Chamberlain, who last Christmas reduced a classroom full of year 6 children to tears by telling them the truth: “It’s your mum and dad.” (I hope that doesn’t come as a shock to any of you.)
He has since apologised and, in his defence, he’d assumed that at their age they would have worked that out already. But I know from my own experience both that some children still believe for longer than others and how traumatic it is for them when their illusion is finally shattered.
