With the winter holidays approaching, many children are writing their wish lists and baking cookies to put out with milk in anticipation for Santa Claus to arrive with their presents. However, there has been a steady decline in the age that children stop believing in Santa Claus. The idea of Santa Claus is a popular legendary tale; the modern version was constructed by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822.

In Moore’s well-known poem, ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ he created the iconic vision of Santa Claus by using the two legendary historical figures of Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop known for giving gifts, and Sinter Klaus, the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. Moore created the basics of the modern version of the Santa Claus known today, introducing many characteristics such as his fur coat, the sack full of presents, and the iconic reindeer-led sleigh.

According to many psychologists, children believing in Santa Claus is actually beneficial for their mental health. For many children, believing in Santa Claus is a tradition that reinforces positive thinking, good values, and creativity. This feeling of positivity and cheer is especially prevalent during the winter holiday season, in which people are known to be significantly happier.

“Believing in Santa is important to me because he shaped my childhood memories of Christmas,” said junior Kathleen Brabb. “I think that there should be more of an emphasis on the belief in Santa because it can allow kids to be imaginative and more creative.”

It is important for young children to believe in Santa Claus because he is an icon that has been a part of American culture for centuries, and he symbolizes the gift of giving and the holiday spirit. It allows children to become involved in holiday traditions and it helps utilize their imagination to think of stories involving Santa.

“When I was little I used to always lay out cookies and milk for Santa and I remember one year on Christmas Eve, I put out celery sticks, carrots, and ranch for him instead of cookies in case he was on a diet,” said junior Kaila Lopez. “I was so immersed in the spirit of Christmas that I would even follow Santa with the Santa Claus tracker on Google.”

Even though there is a decrease in the age of children that children stop believing, many companies designed their holiday campaigns to bring back the spirit of the holidays. Macy’s launched their holiday ads to revolve around Santa’s magic to allow the story of Santa kept alive in the modern age by filling the internet with the ‘magic of belief.’ People — adults and children alike, can submit videos of themselves explaining why they believe in Santa to show their support for Santa.