WHY DO PEOPLE TELL THEIR KIDS THE “SANTA CLAUS” MYTH?: I seriously don’t get it. Stuart Banner wrestles with the when-do-we-tell-them-we-lied question at the Volokhblog. My parents never told me that some magical being brought me presents; I knew the presents came from family. This in no way made my Christmas (or Random Winter Presents-Giving Holiday That Conveniently Falls On December 25 But Has No Religious Significance, which is more what it was) less sweet, fun, Dickensian, etc. Honestly, St. Nicholas is a very cool guy, why create fantasies about him and try to get kids to actually believe said fantasies? This is not something I get het up about, but I do think it unnecessarily complicates Christmas, and blurs the line between fun storytelling and, well, lying. Also, of course, it makes Christmas about Santa Claus rather than… well, you know.