Creepy Holidays

Over Christmas, my youngest niece came clean, declaring her disbelief in Santa Claus. Which is kinda' sad. I think part of the joy of Christmas is fooling kids, messing with their minds and filling them full of ludicrous stories.

When asked why she quit believing, she replied, "It's ridiculous." Well, yes, the world's youngest pragmatist. Santa Claus is ridiculous, when you think about it. I mean, come on, how can one (albeit, supernatural) person load up a single sleigh full of toys for all the good boys and girls in the world? And as my older niece blatantly said, "It never mattered how bad I was. I still got everything I wanted."

Huh.

It got me thinking. Sure, the Santa myth is crazy. But the Easter Bunny is even more out there. I know what Easter's supposed to be about. So how in the world did the holiday

end up revolving around a giant, scary bunny delivering chocolates? And isn't that creepy? I used to stay awake on Easter eve, fearful of the giant rabbit hop-hop-hopping through our house. Furthermore, Santa broke in through the chimney. How'd the bunny get in? Even as a kid, I wanted to declare "wabbit hunting season."


Then there's the Tooth Fairy. Good Gawd. It's gross enough that parents save their children's teeth. But for a fairy to sneak into your bedroom and collect teeth puts a whole new spin on obsessive-compulsive behavior. What's he (she?) do with those teeth? Why does he want them? And pay for them? In our holiday talks, my older niece said she knew it was all hokum when her cousin got paid about twenty dollars more for a fallen soldier of a tooth.

I'd love to keep the ol' holiday myths alive. But, frankly, they're all frightening. Strange creatures creeping into your house at night. Why they can't just knock on the door, use the postal service, whatever? Nope, instead they're acting like boogeymen. Something to warm the hearts of children everywhere.