This time of year, “socially-conscious” adults and bratty kids try to make the case that Santa doesn’t exist. This is one of two ways to say the same thing that they will use: the other being there is no such thing as Santa. I believe in the truth at Finance For Youth, and I have always believed it is a bad idea to lie to young people. That being said, I can say that both of these arguments are BS!

Obviously, Santa has to exist. There are numerous accounts in several societies that point to a similar character. Some attribute this character to the Norse god Odin, others to Saint Nicholas, but the truth remains that at this time of year, there is a feeling of good-will that smacks of Santa Claus.

For me, Santa isn’t some fat guy in a red suit that likes reindeer and Coca-Cola; Santa is much more than that. Santa is the young person who gives up their seat on a bench for someone who has a lot of shopping bags and looks haggard. Santa is the person who sees someone ahead of them drop their wallet and chases after them to return it. In short, Santa is about doing those anonymous good acts that transcend religion and our own problems just to bring a small smile to someone else’s face. Sure, there are a lot of big problems out there that we can all focus on to fix, and we should try to work on those as well, but sometimes working on the small things is enough.

If you are doing some good thing for those less fortunate than you are, good for you. I think we can all learn from your example. If not, try to find something good to do for someone else. It doesn’t have to be something big. If possible, do it without anybody ever knowing it was you. Try doing it, and see if you can do it and still focus on the negatives; you’ll probably find that you can’t. If everybody did this, eventually, we would make some real progress in dealing with some big problems out there.

Merry Christmas to everybody! Remember your loved ones who are thinking of you and remember those who can’t be with you for whatever reason.