If you knew a grown person who believed that Santa Claus was real and lived in the North Pole with his elves and went around in a flying sleigh drawn by reindeer, what would you tell the person?
Would your response be the same if it was a teenager? Or a child?
21 comments:
mmm....everyone has their own believes and the society can not judge or deny anyones believes in my opinion.
maybe believing in Santa Claus represents people believing in hope , hoping that someone is making a difference for once or maybe just maybe the best part of their childhood was Christmas and Santa Claus and they don't want to let go of their favorite times.
If a grown up mature man tells me i believe in Santa Claus and his flying reindeer , i would take a moment and say if you believe in Santa Claus than i believe in world peace.
I'd say, kudos to that person for being able to stretch his imagination at such an age and let himself lose to the extent that he can allow himself into a whole new world where he believes such things are real :P. To be able to think like a child, and to have that essence of purity ,is , in my opinion something extraordinary! To be able to learn so much, and realize so many things about the real, 21st century world around you and still be able to believe in something so naive is simply brilliant.
That's one way to respond to it - it's easy to say that's what I think now but if I were to ACTUALLY meet someone who told me that, I'd probably say to him - WOW, how in the world did science and reality fail you this bad?! :P
^ You cracked me up Tannya. I laughed out loud :D
If I had seen a grown man proclaim that he still believes in Santa Claus, I would look for any children in the surrounding area or room, maybe he's trying to convince them? If he, a grown man believes in Santa, they should as well? Right?. However, there were no children in the room, this man truly does believe in Santa. Now I don't know this man personally, so I can't tell if he's had a troubled childhood or all his adult relatives passed away before they could tell him about Santa, or maybe Christmas was the day he waited for every year? An escape from reality? All these could be factors affecting him.
The story would be a bit different if this man had a PhD or was a well known scientist, because if he told me he still seriously believed, a part of me would also start believing. Is it a crime to believe in something your own parents planted in to your head? My response to this person would probably be... 'Have you been a good boy this year?'
A grown man believing in Santa Claus would be the same as an adult believing in the tooth fairy, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (the school that Harry Potter goes to, Mr. Roberts :p ) elves and giants, magical beanstalks, flying carpets.. I think I've made my point pretty clear.
This might represent his ability to have an 'open-mind' and a 'vast imagination' and what-not, but at the end of the day, it's just plain naivety and, well, stupidity.
It is almost a rite of passage for children to be introduced to all these ideas, as their bright and inquisitive minds are filled with glorious images that allow them to broaden their imagination. The minds of children are pure and innocent, and all these magical tales protect them from the harsh realities of the world. Also, many morals and good deeds are incorporated into kids' fairy tales, which (I think) is the main purpose of the creation of these worlds, to make 'growing up to be a good person' a fun process. Thus, it is completely justified for a child to believe in Santa Claus, an image (or person) that represents giving and sharing, doing good deeds and not bad.
However, a teenager believing in S.C. is just as bad as an adult believing in the same. Once you're a teen, you have reached the stage where your mind has matured more, and is able to face the many truths and realities of the world. Education kicks in, and theories are proven right or wrong, which makes it almost impossible to believe in ideologies without proof. As a teen, you have reached the awkward stage of being considered kids, but behaving like adults. If they still believe in Santa Claus, it shows what a great impact parents' words have on their children. They definitely need reality to slap them in the face.
Like tanya said reading this I would give admiration to the person who is still able to believe in santa claus and for one I wish I could step into that persons shoes. Simply because to us we grew up learning about the truth in life and reality. However if someone could still be able to deny all of this and sincerely belief that their is a santa claus, that there are elves, gnomes, wizadry, magical beanstalks and so forth then credit is due. Because at that stage no matter what we say it won't have much of an effect on what he believes. It's become true to him even though its idiocracy to everyone else.
In fact if he did truly believe in Santa Claus with out a doubt in his mind and we took him to the north pole this very instant. Even though we won't see anything, he most likely will and if he doesn't he would find a rational explanation for it in his mind.
^Good point Shaday. Nothing would convince him to change his mind. Even a trip to the North Pole wouldn't suffice. (He'd probably believe Santa stepped out for a ride on his sleigh)
Firstly, I'd laugh because that's just how insensitive I am :P Once I was done with that, I would proceed to just... ignoring it. Honestly, I would have a good laugh at his expense, and expect him to get the point I was trying to make. If he didn't, then good for him! Who am I to take that away from him? :P
If i met a child who believed in santa claus,the incident will definetly be understandable.
If i met a teenager who believed in Santa i would definetly be sceptical and question his intelligence.
But if i managed to meet a full grown man on God's given earth,who believed in santa then i would obviously and most definetly think that he has lost his mind.But then people have to stop and think,if the man believes in santa then there must be a reason to why he does maybe he relates it to something important in his childhood.
What I would tell the person who believed in Santa Claus? Well, I wouldn't want to discourage him. I mean, I'd think he'd have the mind of a child, innocent, true and fragile. I've seen kids who've had their belief of Santa get crushed, and it's not pretty. What more for a grown man? It would probably be like having our entire belief system proved wrong and we wouldn't know what to believe in anymore. I would seriously hate to be the person who scarred some optimistic person for life. And if my response was the the same for a teenager or child? Yes. I might be a little skeptical at first for teens and adults but really, everyone has a right to believe in something.
Oh My...
I personally would not say anything to shatter their dreams. If it were a teenager, i would probably laugh and tell them to wake up and listen to what they're saying, yet if it were a young child, i would leave it to the parents to break the news, or let the child's peers be the ones to steal his joy.
For a grown person on the other hand, i'd smile politely and listen to what they have to say, yet i wouldn't say anything. Perhaps because of the fact that everyone has a young child within them, and some habits or fantasies take a while to die down, and some don't and also depending on how old the person is, Santa may be the only thing he has left to believe in.
My response would differ towards the child and teenager, yet i would have nothing to say to the grown Santa-believer.
To be very frank and honest, I would literally be trying my ultimate best to control my laughter if an actual adult claimed, "Santa Claus is real!”
Personally, I have never really believed Santa existed as a child because for some reason, it just wasn't a practical or realistic enough claim. I did indulge myself in stories about the big man wearing a matching red outfit, who runs a toy factory with his little elves, and comes to children’s houses before midnight, towards the end of each year, bringing gifts to give young, good children - which I must say, sounds very creepy when I bluntly put it like that. The overall idea is something that I have been quite sceptical about, although, don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been afraid of Santa Claus :P
A person's strong, inner and playful child, that is full of endless creativity and free-spirited imagination, is what probably insists in the existence of such a being. Yes, it’s entertaining to read about such a character but instead of venting out my scepticism about the whole Santa Claus theory, I may approach an adult who is a believer, in a subtle way asking them, “Why do you believe in the existence of such a character? Is your belief about Santa firm and rooted? Or are you just enthralled by the idea of this 1 in a million possible existence? How is it that this modern and often, quick to be obsolete world, hasn’t convinced you that Santa Claus is not real?” Again, I may directly and bluntly say, “Aren’t you old enough to let go of such a childhood fantasy?”
However, my reaction would certainly vary, depending on the age group I’d be interacting with. For a younger child, I may probably sound encouraging to their belief and go about telling Santa Claus fables. Whereas, if it was a teenager of whom I would be able to associate it with more, I may say something like, “Wait.. What makes you think Santa exists? Have you ever seen Santa Claus when you were younger? Has science or faith not affected your perspective about such an existence?”
Inquiring about the existence of Santa Claus is like someone inquiring the existence of God – some are firm believers, others are kind of agnostic about it, while the rest are just atheistic in regard to the subject. I guess for some people who still believe in Santa Claus, they are what you could consider as hopeful and optimistic individuals - those who believe in never-ending possibilities and are not afraid to think outside of the box and voice out their personal beliefs.
*Insert sarcastic tone* Cool story bro! Tell me more!! :P
In all seriousness though, I'd ask him what grade he dropped out of, but then again, he could be "young at heart" and what not. If he were a teenager, I would probably tell him to hit the books a little harder and my response to a child would be nothing more than a smile. :)
So yes, my responses would vary depending on the mentality and age group of the "believers".
If I met such a man, I'd praise him for keeping his faith in such a concept intact while the whole world chose to progress on. It is actually really hard to go against the flow and choose to believe in such a concept while the whole world seems to have hopped on. It takes guts and real confidence in your belief and in yourself. I'd say I am glad to have met such a man. I don't know. My grasp of general knowledge is almost equal to nothing. But wasn't there a man (Galileo was it?) who chose to believe in the world being round while the world ridiculed the idea and claimed that it was flat. He did turn out to be right, didn't he? Well. My facts are quite hazy.
Point being, if I met a man who believed in Santa Claus, I'd make him sit for a while and actually turn my belief back around in reverse too. If he successfully does so, I'd thank him a million times over.
Rameesa:
If I met such a man, I'd praise him for keeping his faith in such a concept intact while the whole world chose to progress on. It is actually really hard to go against the flow and choose to believe in such a concept while the whole world seems to have hopped on. It takes guts and real confidence in your belief and in yourself. I'd say I am glad to have met such a man. I don't know. My grasp of general knowledge is almost equal to nothing. But wasn't there a man (Galileo was it?) who chose to believe in the world being round while the world ridiculed the idea and claimed that it was flat. He did turn out to be right, didn't he? Well. My facts are quite hazy.
Point being, if I met a man who believed in Santa Claus, I'd make him sit for a while and actually turn my belief back around in reverse too. If he successfully does so, I'd thank him a million times over.
...aw, baby :( You guys are being really insensitive. I mean, sure, they would be massively deluded but then, come on. People don't really discuss Santa Claus everyday. Maybe by some FREAK coincidence, they were able to avoid any and all conversations on Santa. Or maybe they suffer some psychological problems and they only way they can keep a grip on life is to believe in folk figures.
...I don't know, all I'm saying is, if a grown person told me they believed in Santa Clause, I'd basically just frown and ask them why.
I would by ALL means try to control and keep myself from laughing, yet it would depend on the conditions the man grew up in. He may be trapped as a little boy (mentally disturbed) in his mind, therefore there are various factors which may have him still believing in Santa at such an old age. Yet i'd admire the man for his strong belief in Santa for so many years because i'm sure that along the way, there were many people that told him he's crazy.
Breaking the news to a child would be none of my business as his/her parents would deal with that, yet telling a teenager, i'd laugh, THEN explain to them how ridiculous they sound.
If i knew a grown person with this believe i would actually not want to ask the person a question,Everyone human should be allowed to have their own believes,We have no reason to judge them unless the believe could harm somebody
haha im kind of laughing right now, but if I was with this person i would try not to, would be offensive to the person. I would ask him what makes him think that Santa Claus exist, and probably think that this person is crazy.
But if it was a small kid it would be understandable, I wouldn't tell him the truth, because it would ruin his fantasy, when I was a kid i did believe in Santa Claus.
When I was small i didn't have much understanding in the TRUE meaning of Christmas, for me was all about gifts, but as I got older and left this fantasy behind I learned is not just about gifts and delicious dinner, but it's celebrating Jesus Christ's birthday, and that what i would explain to a teenager if he still believed in Santa Claus
To be honest, I'm not quite sure wether i'd want to be the wicked one who tells him that he's believing in a fantasy. I don't see how having one adult regard Santa claus as reality is going to bring harm to anyone.
As it happens, I can't help wondering how we would prove to him that santa claus does not exist. He has clearly spent his entire life strongly convinced of santas existence. It would definitely be a burden to assure him otherwise.
Well, firstly I wouldn't believe that he still believes that Santa Claus exists. As a grown person, he is set to know more as he has lived on Earth for a longer period of time than a child or teenager. Besides the fact that a grown person is more exposed and mature than a child and can differentiate between reality and fantasy, I'd tell him to snap out of his dream and to come out and face reality because it sure is absurd to imagine a grown-up waiting for Santa to arrive with his precious gifts on Christmas.
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