The Moment I Found Out Santa Was a Fraud

By Rakwan Hedgemond
Staff Writer

For many people, Santa Claus was and still is a very important part of their childhood. When Christmas time comes along, some parents would convince their children that Santa Claus would come down the chimney and leave gifts for the good and coal for the naughty. Some other parents didn’t like lying to their children and would tell them he wasn’t real.

Some students actually figured it out themselves using context clues! Here’s how some students found out that Santa, was actually their parents.

“I was 7 and I realized I didn’t have a chimney so how else was someone bringing presents to me with my doors locked,” said Gabriella Bruno, a senior social work major. “Also Santa and my mom had the same wrapping paper,” she added. No chimney, no Santa.

Another student didn’t find out the news as lightly as Bruno. Madeline Nunley, a senior Digital arts and design major, had her world flipped upside-down. “I was six years old when I first found out Santa didn’t exist. I went grocery shopping with my mom, aunt and cousin who was 13 at the time right before Christmas. And as we were walking to the car he blurted out that Santa wasn’t real and my world shattered in those few seconds. My mom tried to reassure me that he was only kidding but from that moment on I was very skeptical and didn’t trust it. I finally knew for a fact that Santa wasn’t real when I realized my moms handwriting and Santa’s handwriting was the exact same. At that point I already kind of knew so it wasn’t ground breaking but it definitely still was sad!”

Whether it was not having a chimney, noticing the wrapping paper or handwriting, or having someone crush your dreamworld, there’s many other ways to find out that Santa Claus wasn’t the one leaving you gifts or drinking your milk and eating your cookies.