Do you teach your small children that Father Christmas is coming, and he'll bring presents for good children?
And do you teach your children about God?
When I was six, at a Catholic school, someone in class told us that Father Christmas didn't exist, that it was your parents leaving stockings at the end of your bed. I accepted that because it made sense. But then I wondered, "if Father Christmas isn't true, when are they going to tell me that God isn't true either?"
They never did. I observed that my family had too much invested in the idea of God for them not to believe it. Grandparents, aunts and uncles went to church on Sunday mornings, parents had photos of a church wedding. I was been trained to make my first communion, with church plans for a big event and fancy white dresses for the girls. They'd look as pretty as princesses.
Still being enamoured of fairy stories, I looked for a prince to marry, telling my mother I'd marry Prince Charles. Reality struck. "You can't, dear, because you're a Catholic, and if you marry him, he couldn't be king."
Ambition dashed at the age of six!
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