Holiday Myths Why You Should Lie To Your Kids

How does this myth
 fulfill
 the
 four 
functions 
of 
myths? (look 
on 
p.
31
 in 
your
 textbook 
or 
p.
37 
in
 the
 online
book)

The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Boogeyman, and Santa Claus, what do all of these have in common? For me, it is the innocence of a child. Children seem to be more gullible and believe anything you tell them; they do not know the difference between a lie and the truth. During the Christmas of 2003, I was five years old and still believed in Santa Claus. The fact of believing in Santa Claus expresses the innocence of a child and brings the magic to Christmas.

This leads into the most important difference between the book and the movie. In the movie it depicts that going to the North Pole to see Santa was all a dream, while in the book it made it all seem real. When children go see this movie, they might think that since the boy is having a dream that Santa must not be real. A lot of research has been done about kids believing in Santa. Gail Vines wrote about “the Santa delusion” from psychologist’s perspectives. According to Gail Vines (2007), children are able to

I’m not a trombone, much less a tuba or euphonium. They never even needed a piccolo in the first place. So no one makes a big deal when I leave.

and some children know its not true. For an example, my mother told my little brother and I that theres is no such things as Santa, Tooth Fairy, A Easter Bunny and so on. The only reason why she told the truth was she wanted us to know and appreciate how hard she works to please us. In these cases, she gives us gifts, candy, etc. instead of these "myth characters/fantasies".

First, the story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss is one of the classic children's stories of all time. It is about a grouchy hermit, the Grinch, who hated Christmas, and all the Christmas celebrations, who tried to stop Christmas from coming. He tried to do this by stealing all of Christmas cheer, by taking all the food, and all

Once the leaves begin to alter their color for the winter, most houses and businesses also change their appearance for the winter. Many families drag out their boxes of red and green to decorate their house for the holidays. Parents may brave a line stretching down the mall so their child can tell Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, what he or she wishes to unwrap on Christmas morning. Some parents question the effect of a child’s health or morals associated with the belief in Santa Claus, but, with research and psychologists weighing in on the subject, there is no tramatic evidence apparent in letting a child have faith in Santa Claus. Evidence gathered may suggest a benefit for children. Children should have the oportunity to believe in Santa Claus because it stems creativity and can improve mental health, shows youth an example of giving without expecting anything in return, and when the time comes, forces kids to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

Also, adults threatening children throughout the year saying that, “Santa is always watching.” Is it just be an easy way for them to have children be on their best behavior at all times? Additionally, another theory that I have heard is that Santa Claus is a way for Satan to take Christ out of Christmas. People say that he tries to make giving and receiving gifts more important than the birth of Christ, but I don’t feed into this assumption. I feel as though parents and large corporations are the ones behind the

In Bruce Lincolns preface, he says myths can be seen as strongly negative, strongly positive, or somewhere in between (Lincoln, 1999, pg. ix). An example given to describe this gray space is of myths being stories for children (1999). To my cousin and I, these stories were strongly positive. In our eyes they were as Lincoln says, the “primordial truth” (1999). Gifts from the past our paw paw decided to give us when we needed to be sat down after a sugar high, or when we begged him until he caved. To my Grandma they were just foolish lies that she hoped our impressionable minds wouldn’t cling on strongly too. Reflecting on this now, I see that it was just a story for children,

Do you ever remember being a kid and going to see Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny? That was my favorite time of the year, when Santa Claus came to town for me to tell him what I wanted for Christmas and have a picture taken with him. However, I was more skeptical about the Easter Bunny. To this day he still scares me a little bit, just the costume was a little bit much. I was still forced to sit on his lap and smile for the picture. My family took us every year to Pinnacle Bank in Imperial, Nebraska to go visit for these holidays. Pinnacle Bank has businesses set up throughout six states with more than 140 locations.

But I think that parents concerned with harming their relationship with their kid may discover the revelation of the ruse opens their children’s eyes and helps them see their parents in not a bad but different light. The discovery of the Santa Myth leads to important steps towards maturity like realizing your parents are people, just like you, and aren’t infallible. Having your parents share the truth about Santa and also share their personal discoveries of the myth can actually bring parents and children closer through the realization that they’ve both gone through the same experience. It also brings a new appreciation for parents’ efforts.

The similarities and differences between the myth and movie are very important to decipher because it helps one understand which representation is the myth and which one is Disney.

Christmas is the annual festival celebrating the birth of Jesus on the 25th December, at least that is what it began as initially. Since it has expanded into an international phenomenon for consumption, taking priority over our everyday practices of life (Michel De Certeau, 1980). Our time we spend divided between work and leisure in accordance to the codes and conventions of society shifts, Christmas derails these expectations. Yet surprisingly Christmas gains little attention in terms of social research, despite the fact that it can be explored diversely. The inquiry ‘What is Christmas?’ links to multiple aspects of social research. The aspects of Christmas can be subdivided into the following; religion, commercialism, gift-giving, social relationships, sensualism and mythology. This essay will analyse these fundamentals of Christmas through both psychological and sociological perspectives, as the theories among these two social sciences are best suited to the elements which make up Christmas itself.

The Easter Bunny is a bunny that some people believe in but no one knows the truth. The easter bunny gives people baskets of candy and other stuff we like. The easter bunny also puts eggs in random places and you have to find them but we don’t know if the easter bunny is real or not. Some people believe that the easter is a person dressed up in a bunny suit and hops around like a bunny. People also believe that the easter bunny comes out of his burrow the night before easter and puts the easter eggs and the baskets in random places. The easter bunny is believed to be 5ft tall. Some people say that the easter bunny is just in the kids imagination. Some people say that the easter bunny is a person dressed up in a bunny costume. Some people say

A child learning about the myth of Santa Claus helps the process of development, and stimulates their cognitive development. Children will become interested in other ideas once they come to the realization of it being no Santa Claus. On the Today Show, Karri-Leigh Mastrangelo, a television producer and mother of two children, signified her belief that “there is a huge difference between telling your child a lie and allowing them to believe in the magic and mystery of the holidays.” It is One-Hundred Percent healthy for your child to believe in Santa Claus according to multiple psychologists and researchers. You cannot compare lying to your child about situations they could not understand versus allowing them to believe in Santa Claus. Dr. Janet Serwint a professor at the John Hopkins School of Medicine also stated, “Teaching your kids the myth of Santa Clause will not scar them for life.” While supporting my argument, this simple statement brings about questions amongst parents. If it does no psychological harm, then there should not be any concern of fraudulence towards the