Thursday, December 25, 2008

Why Do We Believe In Santa?

ScienceDaily -- Having kids believe there's a jolly man in a red suit who visits on Christmas Eve isn't detrimental, although some parents can feel they're outright lying to their children, according to a new analysis by Serge Larivee.

"When they learn the truth, children accept the rules of the game and even go along with their parents in having younger children believe in Santa," says Larivee, a psycho-education professor at the Universite de Montreal. "It becomes a rite of passage in that they know they are no longer babies."

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Larivee and Senechal now want to explore a deeper question: If children attribute the same supernatural powers to Santa as they do to God, why do they stop believing in Santa, but continue their belief in God?

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