Until when to lie to children that there exist Santa Claus and St. Nicholas?!

Written by: Roman Vodeb

THIS IS (VERY, COMPLETELY) UNIQUE PSYCHOANALYTIC INTERPRETATION OF CONSPIRACY THEORY (BASED ON FREUD).

Recently, at the web ZOOM-conference, I had a cursory discussion about the harmfulness of parents' deception of children by the fact that Santa Claus doesn't really exist – neither St. Nicholas, nor a tooth mouse, a good fairy and similar mythological characters. In these times, young parents, as well as grandparents, have slight doubt about when – to what age – it makes sense to lie to children about the existence of these mythological creatures or characters. Regarding the fact  that various conspiracy theories have literally gone crazy in these times, they are in a kind of (failed) way – parents as well as grandparents, aunts and uncles – need to be told, taught that it's really a bit harmful if children are deceived for too long about the existence of the mentioned mythological »heroes«, creatures or characters, because a child who has been deceived for too long time, may begin in adulthood chronically and fanatically – and of course erroneously – believe in various conspiracy theories.

Slovenia is considered to be a country – almost a record holder – where a lot of people mentally fall prey to the thesis – thus conspiracy theory – that vaccinating children is harmful, and consequently it is also »in« an a priori resistance to vaccination against the new corona virus. Also, the introduced technology 5G confused many Slovenes and aroused a lot of revolt. Even the idea of harmfulness – even lethality – of aircraft exhausts (chemtrails) had permeated many Slovenes. However, it seems that the increase of such conspiracy theories began almost 20 years ago, when Talibans by the three kidnapped passenger planes demolished the both WTC-skyscrapers, but the third plane crashed on Pentagon. The theory of conspiracy that appeared then all over the world and also with us was that the Americans themselves demolished the both of WTC skyscrapers (towers) in a way that they mined them – but there were no planes at all.

Freud attributed such bizarre and grotesque belief that people have believed since prehistoric times, when science was not yet born, to misleading children about the truth about the sexual conception and the birth of children. Freud explained this in his scriptures from the year 1907 and 1908 (»On sexual enlightenment of children« and »On infantile sexual theories«). Nowadays, however, the children are massively misled around one other topic. It concerns the fundamental deception that did not exist centuries ago and it is: the introduction of the belief in St. Nicholas and also in the last centuries in Santa Claus. Such deceptions are harmful in the long run because a child around the age of five can already explain many things to himself – also the fact that Santa Claus or St. Nicholas don't exist in reality; those that the presents are brought by parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. With autonomous logical reasoning the young curious person spontaneously opposes his parents – the first authorities – who deceive him around that pre-Christmas and/or New Year's gifting. This annoying paradigm of opposing the first authorities who deceive him and vehemently lie to him is important because the foundation settles in the child's psyche on which they will oppose in adulthood to many authorities who will proclaim certain elusive truths.

When a new corona virus (COVID-19) appeared in China at that time last year, I knew for myself exactly how conspiracy theories would start to appear all over the world, saying that something was hiding in the background – a kind of »forbidden value«, conspiracy against humanity. My prediction was based on knowing how »infantile primacy« (»firstness«) – that is childhood symbolically returns to adulthood as a revived »otherness« (»secondness«), it is the trigger of this symbolic revival, it is a kind of a secret or non-transparency that has megalomaniacal or even sensationalistic social influence of dimension. Just as it was a real sensation for the child that some »little man« (or old man in red/white clothes with white beard) was carrying presents in December (or that a »tooth mouse« for a pulled out tooth brought him money), or that so to speak »from a scratch« (»from nowhere«) appeared in his life a small brother or small sister (or even twins) and it was also for an adult person sensational that (due to the crashed planes demolish two of WTC-skyscrapers or that a man came to the Moon or that so to speak »overnight« (in China appeared a deadly virus).

People who have been deceived by their parents too sovereignly and for too long around Santa Claus and St. Nicholas, or who have even lied to them in the embrace of shame that the children are carried by a stork, confuse a smart child who, in his own way knows that the authorities lie to him about this topic. And the feeling that the official science (governments, NASA, FBI, illuminates, »deep state«, »world mafia«, George Soros, Bill Gates …) lie, is almost psychotic, completely misleading, unrealistic. Many people are chronically obsessed by such kind of conspiracy theories – it usually concerns the same people. (They are regular guests with us in Slovenian TV-show »Chat over coffee«, with the presenter Jasmina Kandorfer).

Therefore – dear parents (grandparents, uncles and aunts) – don't lie to your children too long! Stop misleading them, if the children have already found out, so to speak, for themselves that what you are telling them when you are misleading them, lying to them, is not true. At the moment when the child (already) by himself by a logical reasoning, doubts – he may have heard this from others, from his peers – he finds out that you are misleading him and sovereignly lying to him, you must reveal the truth in a considerate and careful manner. You must know that the December gifting always means the pleasure of those ones who give gifts – thus for the pleasure of the parents that give presents to the children and they are consequently misleading them; children's enjoyment when they receive gifts in reality – theoretically (in this context) – in its own way is not essential.