What kind of arseling would tell their own child he does not exist, some annoying brat in the supermarket fine go ahead but their own?
Father Christmas crept into our bedroom (shared with sister) at the age of 6. This particular Father Christmas was noisy, a little drunk and looked just like my daddy :o)
He propped up a shiny brand new bicycle against the curtains and I was the happiest child there ever could be, so I didn't care that the secret was out.
My two were 'too cool' to believe past about 10-ish I think. I never told them anything, but at the same time, they still put of mince pies and carrots, one time my daughter (aged about 12 I think) told me with a straight face that it was for her mother's benefit not hers.
I did find out that she she thought the line "This little piggy went to market" meant that it was going shopping though...
I had a friend whose family trick was to tell the kids that on their tenth birthday they’d be able to see through walls for the whole day. Once the disappointment wore off they would have to keep the secret for the next kid (there were four).
Bit OT, but when I was 14 or so my Dad told me there was a family secret handed down the men in the family that I'd get to know when I turned 16. Two years wondering what it was, and of course my Mum, Grandma, etc, couldn't confirm or deny the existence of the secret because it was handed down the male line...
Two years.
Thankfully I don't have a son, or the temptation to pull the same wheeze would be overwhelming.
My 7 year old is already questioning the logistics of getting round soo many houses in one night and squeezing down the chimney.
He also wants to make sure our address is clearly written on the letter as ‘he never gets anything’ he’s asked for. The bloody cheek!
arseling would tell their own child he does not exist,
er...
I've vague memories of trying to tell mine that their presents did not come from some strange old bloke who lives near the north pole and who creeps into the bedrooms of every child in the world, but rather from their mum and dad who love them. But frankly they were having none of that. No dad it's Father Christmas who brings presents, any fool knows that.
Like the rest of us, kids can believe what suits them and be pretty robust in defending that belief. So I wouldn't worry.
Wait, what do you me…
Holy shit. I have just got this as well. I had to look it up:
If the first pig went to the market to get slaughtered, then the “little piggy staying home” refers to a pig not yet ready to eat, and that must stay home to mature. The “little piggy having roast beef” is about fattening a pig up, while the fourth “piggy that gets none” is too small to go to the market. And perhaps most dark, that final little piggy is not singing “wee, wee, wee”, but rather crying in fright.
Thankfully, I've not eaten meat in over 30 years so I feel less bad about this cruel world 😂
My wife told me that Father Christmas wasn’t real. Still devastated (I’m 49 on Boxing Day.).
I was at infant school when I worked it out. I (vaguely) remember standing in the corridor outside class. I think the myth was sold to me as a delivery system rather than gifts "from" Father Christmas. Like, we've bought your presents, they're with Santa. Could be wrong, it was a while ago.
Cynically perhaps, I think there's an element to all this which is kind of cruel. Having to have "a serious chat" is a problem of our own devising. Is the discovery that the people you trust most in the whole world have been lying to you your entire life is some sort of rite of passage or life lesson? Can we not have fun, magic and excitement without the deception?
I've suddenly just remembered, our next door neighbour teaching me a magic trick when I was little. It was a trick deck (Svengali) so the stunt worked itself. He had me repeat it, said something like "now you've got the magic too." It was well-meaning but I promptly ran back indoors tried to show off my new-found powers with my own deck of cards, obviously failed and burst into tears.
Many ‘classic’ nursery rhymes are pretty messed up, though getting to a reliable explanation can be challenging.
Ring-a-ring-a-roses is about the plague - the ring of roses is the rash that developed on the skin of victims.
I borrowed from the CIA's media handbook and neither confirmed nor denied the existence of Santa and the Tooth Fairy when presented with allegations. On the plus side, the next logical step once they do realise is that they understand the presents come from us. Both figured it out before secondary school and asked; it's a real blow when they do, as you realised it's the end of quite a wonderful period of childhood and parenthood.
That said: the Tooth Fairy used to write in some pretty painful cursive which took absolutely hours to do, often late at night. Whoever was responsible for that had clearly read Tolkein's Father Christmas Letters for inspiration as a child.
The neighbour's kid also revealed she got £2 a tooth when ours only received £1 - Questions Were Asked.
Some other friends' kid also wrote to the Tooth Fairy, didn't get a response, hard cash *or* tooth collection, and wrote an absolutely livid green biro letter to the Fairy explaining that this level of service was utterly unacceptable. There were clear and instructive parallels to the Daily Mail Online comments section.
I have never felt so grown up and in the loop as when, around 14, my parents asked me to eat a mince pie and half of a carrot, as to keep up the illusion to my 4 year old sister.
(I worked it out about 7 I think, noticing that Santa and my mum had the same handwriting…)
Ring-a-ring-a-roses is about the plague – the ring of roses is the rash that developed on the skin of victims.
Yeah, that's the classic one and I believe that the explanation is a back-formation. The poem is way older than the plague I think.
Mary Mary Quite Contrary on the other hand, that's about one of the Queen Marys torturing her victims.
Yeah, that’s the classic one and I believe that the explanation is a back-formation. The poem is way older than the plague I think.
It isn't that old (19thC probably). It certainly doesn't appear in print until then, and there are regional variations of it that don't have 'plague references' in it For it to have been older than the plague, it would've have to have been around from at least the 17thC or maybe even the 14thC and never once been referred to by any author at all in the history of literature.
Says my wife; Prof of Early English Literature of Manchester Uni.
Why on earth would you tell her? They all KNOW it’s nonsense from about 6- 8, it goes round the playground. She was CHOOSING to believe cos it’s fun and exciting. Christmas, ruined.
