The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26„ 1908. THE CULT OF SANTA CLAUS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2383, 26 December 1908, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26„ 1908. THE CULT OF SANTA CLAUS.

Should Santa Claus be abolished ? Does that mysterious individual justify his existence and the long tissue of prevarications that follow in his wake? The question is pre-eminent-ly one of the hour and deserves consideration. These are days of educational advancement, days in. which the cold searchlight of science, assisted by the accumulated knowledge of the centuries, bluntly dissipates superstitions and beliefs of various kinds that had long held sway, and had given a certain amount of satistaction to the human mind. The world is busier than ever before, and will deal with nothing but facts, hard facts, leaving less and less scope for the imagination. To realise this one has only to contrast the numerous quaint ceremonies that were associated with the observance of Christmas, in the days when our parents sat- *ound the Yule log, with the entire absence oh such practices in this country. In a materialistic age the tendency is to abolish everything that it not classed as distinctly utilitarian and absolutely true, and the question is whether or not a parent is'justified in perpetua-* ting any kind of fiction or myth in the minds of his children. Fortunately the bogey man, whose mythical person was hold over the youngsters of the last generation as an avenging terror against wrongdoing, belongs to the dead past, whilst nowadays wo hear little of ghosts, but the children’s friend. “Old Santa Claus,” or “St, Nicholas” as the Americans call him, will die very hard. The natural answer to any suggestion of the kind is: “Lot the youngsters believe in him as long as they can ; they will find out for themselves soon enough.” But it docs not follow that any argument based on the destruction of the universal idol i,s necessarily inimical to the children. The day must come when each child will learn for himself the truth, and the effect of a discovery that he has been misled by his own parents, in whom he had formerly placed implicit trust, might easily ho disastrous. Of course there is a great deal in the manner is which the discovery is made. If, with careful discretion. the parents choose a suitable time to make the disclosure, and, talcing, th<s child into their confidence completely, explain why the myth had been perpetuated, the position would be very different from that created where the information comes unexpectedly from ait older playmate. But under the most favorable conditions there is always a rirfk of the implicit faith that should exist between a child and its parents being replaced by mistrust, anil this fact, coupled witlj, the tendency of the day to avoid superstitions of any kind, will, in all probability, spell the downfall of the little old man wlfo comes surreptitiously clown the chimney in the dead of night. The bogey man and the ghost were easily dispensed with, but a parting from old Santa Claus would bo accompanied by bitter pangs, however gradual the process, and many would look upon it as a calamity. AA T o are not sure but these latter may be right. The pleasurable excitement' of the liistle toddlers on Christmas Eve

as they hang, out their stockings, not forgetting the tiny piece of hosiery which “baby cannot bang for himself, you know,” the numberless queries which assail their parents as to tho probable time of Santa. Claus' arrival., the horrible fear that the chimney may prove too small for his entrance, or the stocking too abbreviated for his present, the many winkings of each parent to the other as the mother admires the .marvellous dexterity wit'll which ail ordinary -truthful and frank father parries and previaricatescver the persistent questions of the youngsters, the desperate endeavors of Jimmy and Mary to carry out their expressed resolve “to keep awake until Santy comes,” followed by the peaceful closing of the eyes and a deep untroubled sleep within a. few minutes of their laying their heads on their pillows, the glorious discoveries of the morning, tho mad joys associated with each variety of toys, the boys with their toils and machines and screeching bugles, the girls with their dolls and—wonder of wonders—the tiny littlo tot in the cradle with his rattle; these are all incidents that count for much in the lives of our children, and would not be lightly parted with. Of course, the custom of giving presents is not dependent upon the maintenance of n mythical personage, but the giving direct from the parents would do away with the

glorious uncertainty and the consequent surprises which play a very important part in the distribution of Christmas gifts. For these reasons it: seems to us that, despite the disadvantage to which we have already alluded, Santa. Claus fully justifies his mythical existence, and we can conscientiously echo the general wish that he may long be spared to carry his seasonable tokens to children in every home.