Santa is known by many names such as Saint Nicholas, Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, and so many more. Not only is there differences of opinion in his name, but there are hundreds of thousands of stories and movies dedicated to his origins all that vary from one another. He is most commonly know to be based off of an ancient bishop who was beloved and seen as a protector and helper to the people of his time. Although the Actual stories of St. Nicholas may vary the fact remains that he was seen as a wonderful and giving person. Santa is still seen as that person even today but he's more than just a person now. Santa is a symbol for magi, giving, love, hope, and so much more. The world depends on Santa if not for heartwarming Christmas movies or advertisements on Coke bottles then for the love that Santa brings and represents.

Everyone can look back and remember the good times during Christmas. Whether it was visiting Santa Claus at your local mall, writing letters with your siblings or cousins, and opening your presents from Santa Claus on Christmas morning. Everyone has a memory the look back on and smile. Santa allows just that for children everywhere, these are the times that they will look back on. Those special memories aren't limited to the children of the world, Santa can create wonderful memories for adults too. If you're a parent, seeing your child sit there on Santa's lap so excited and smiling. That's probably one of the greatest memories a parent could have and that wouldn't happen if there was no Santa Claus. These aren't just restricted to parents and kids though, there are also the old men who dress up as the Santa everyone wants  to see. One could only imagine the memories they acquire from seeing hundreds of smiling little faces that have nothing in their eyes but love. Santa creates memories for people who you'd never expect and he brings people together from all over the world. I'm sure that people and small children could still make memories without Santa, but where's the fun in that?

Believing the stories of Santa Claus requires a massive amount of imagination on the child's part. It can't be easy to close your eyes and see a group of large reindeer leading a sleigh through the night sky with a large old man in red and a large bag of presents riding in it. Imagining Santa sliding down a small chimney that may or may not have a fire at the bottom is something that requires a remarkable amount of imagination. Having an imagination that big can be used for more that just imagining holiday figures, if a person develops a strong enough imagination they can imagine anything even the seemingly impossible. Jackson Woolley, a professor and chair of the Department of Psychology said, "This kind of thinking — engaging the border between what is possible and what is impossible — is at the root of all scientific discoveries and inventions, from airplanes to the Internet." This proves that nothing is impossible if a person lacks the imagination to create spectacular ideas. Every luxury we have today, even the simplest ones like fire, we have because somebody imagined it and made it a reality. We owe everything to the imagination of others and that's why Santa is so important. He helps develop our imaginations and believe that anything is possible.

Everybody has their own holiday traditions that they do every single year that has been passed on from generation to generation. Santa Clause is a huge part of those traditions for most families. Some traditions include; visiting Santa at the mall, writing letters to Santa, making cookies and setting them out for Santa, trying to stay up and see Santa, and opening presents from him on Christmas morning. These are very crucial parts for a lot of families' Christmas traditions. Traditions are important to everyone but especially children because it is a major part of their development. Our traditions teach us how to interact with others and give our lives some sort of purpose even if it's only for a short amount time. Traditions are also something that people can look forward to. Take a young couple for example, they're starting a new family and they get to pass on their traditions or start new ones with their own children. That's why Santa is so important, he's a very popular and well known tradition that means so much to so many different people.

Everybody knows about Santa's Naughty or Nice list. Whether they've heard about it from one of multiple songs, their family, or from Santa himself at the mall that list becomes a huge thought in a kid's mind as Christmas starts to come around the corner. The story goes that good little girls and boys that are on the nice list get the gifts that they asked Santa for whereas the boys and girls who made it onto the naughty list receive coal as punishment. Although this story typically is told to us in a catchy tune that we hum or by somebody we love and trust, for any kid who believes in Santa this is a very big deal. No kid wants coal in their stocking when they could get toys and candy instead, nobody would. By making their behavior directly affect the presents that they receive is a positive reinforcement and encourages that behavior in the long run even after their belief in Santa is long gone. So even though the whole idea of a Naughty or Nice List may seem silly or simple to adults, it has a huge impact on children and their long-term behavior

Children have the constant dream of sneaking into the living room to find Santa Claus putting presents underneath the Christmas tree. This is probably due to people's nature to want to solve the unknown, everyone has a need for answers no matter what age they are. Since Santa is one of the biggest mysteries of all for children because they never actually see him in their homes. That's how they learn to look at everything as if it was a huge puzzle. They look at the cookies and decide if that's evidence of Santa's presence in their home, they look for reindeer tracks in the snow or on their roofs, or they stare at the tag on their gifts to see if they recognize the handwriting. As they grow older they start to see they small things they missed when they were younger like why everyone stays up later than them, why the handwriting does look similar, etc. Eventually they manage to piece together the puzzle and some come to the conclusion on their own and others have suspicions and ask their parents to confirm them. Either way they managed to discover the truth, that Santa is actually their parents and flying reindeer aren't actually a thing (unfortunately). This skills isn't only useful for Santa, but also for other problem and mysteries they may have later on in their lives. Critical thinking is also something people look for in their employees so it's helping their future job searches too.

Many parents worry how their children will react to the drastic revelation that Santa, is in fact, not real. Dr. Benjamin Siegel, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine, said, "children who learn the truth tend to be upset, but not nearly upset as their parents". In fact, some children feel as if they have been trusted with a great responsibility from keeping the secret from their friends and or their younger siblings. By allowing them to help their parents keep the myth alive and play the role of Santa themselves. It allows children to feel more involved in the adult world and as though their parents trust and respect them enough for them to be apart of such an important part of a child's development. It can also lead to boosting their confidence in their future experiences that they may face that involve keeping a secret or creating something that seems magical. But what seems to be the most important aspect of this astonishing revelation is that it can bring families even closer together. For some children, nothing can be more empowering than their family and the love and support that comes with them. That's why even though the kid is losing the belief in something magical, doesn't mean that the magic necessarily goes away. It just means that instead of experiencing the magic of Santa, they get to help create the magic of Santa for those they love.

Santa is internationally recognized as a selfless giver and for the importance he places on giving to others. With events, such as exchanging presents between friends and family, volunteering, or even just a game of Secret Santa. Giving back is a vital part of the holiday season. It's so important because the feeling you experience when you do something that causes other people, especially the people you love, to smile and be happy is just inexplicably  wonderful. Santa is all about that feeling, that's probably why Santa's so jolly because he gets to make people all around the would happy. These days, people are seen as callous and disconnected for the most part, but when the holidays come around there's more of an emphasis for human connection and to spread around he love and the joy. Santa is a major influence for that because not only is he a major influence for that because not only is he a major symbol for giving but also because he reminds people that giving is a wonderful part of Christmas and more importantly life in general. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacqueline-woolley/why-the-whole-family-benefits-when-kids-believe-in-...http://www.pbs.org/parents/holidays/is-it-okay-lie-about-santa/