It’s officially Christmas season which means Santa is coming to town soon! Everyone has hung up their stockings and put up their lights to officially get into the Christmas spirit. The spirit of Santa is what makes Christmas so special. On Christmas Eve, kids make cookies and set out milk for Santa, impatiently waiting for his arrival. Eventually, they hurry off to bed with the thoughts of waking up and seeing presents under their Christmas tree, knowing that Santa had visited. 

Freshman Dane Wiederstein found out the “sad truth” about Santa in fourth grade while he and his older sister, Lila, were snooping in their parents’ closet looking for presents. He was disappointed when finding out but said it didn’t change his view on Christmas because “Santa isn’t the point of Christmas.”  Wiederstein has a younger sister so he still gets to keep the spirit alive in his household during the Christmas season. Before finding out in fourth grade, he said that second grade is when students at school started talking about how Santa wasn’t real, but he didn’t believe the rumors. The Wiederstein family still sets out cookies and milk along with carrots for the reindeer every Christmas Eve. 

Hayden Kleen said that he thought that finding out about Santa in fifth grade was a good age to find out. Kleen said, “My elf just stopped showing up.” He said that the last time he saw his elf, he made goodbye cookies that said he wasn’t coming back. Kleen said that when asking his mom about it, she said he was just getting to that age. He didn’t have much care when he found out because there is still Christmas spirit, the only difference is that Santa just doesn’t come. Kleen had no suspicion that Santa wasn’t real, he always thought he was.

AHS staff Jesse McCann has three kids that are ages three, four, and 11. “Christmas is more about family time and actually sharing gifts with others that you enjoy,” said McCann. His 11-year-old son had seen his parents wrapping Christmas presents from Santa when he was nine years old. After that, he started getting curious and asking questions about the elf on the shelf and eventually put everything together. McCann’s wife was sad that her son was growing up, but they thought it was a good age for him to find out. McCann’s daughters still strongly believe in Santa and love to sing “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” The night before Christmas they sprinkle reindeer food in the yard and set out cookies and milk for Santa. The kids get very excited to wake up and find presents under their tree from Santa. 

Junior Morgan Botos felt disappointed after finding out the truth about Santa.“Believing in Santa is a huge part of Christmas and for that to be ruined, takes the fun out of it,” said Botos. “As we get older and find out Santa isn’t real, Christmas doesn’t feel the same anymore.” She’s not entirely sure what age she found out about Santa, but she thinks it was sometime during elementary school. Botos found out while hearing things about Santa not being real at school. Botos’ older sister had almost ruined it for her a couple of times and knew she had to watch what she said so she wouldn’t ruin it for her younger sister. Botos said that they still have their traditions of going to their grandparent’s house on Christmas Eve, but the “excitement of going to sleep on Christmas Eve isn’t the same anymore.” 

Christmas is a time of joy and love. All around the world, people celebrate what the meaning of Christmas means to them. The Christmas spirit still surrounds us daily and reminds us what Christmas is really about: the excitement of finally seeing your family again, and the laughter that comes from each one of your family members when you talk about old memories.