My mom told me the “truth” about Santa Claus when I was about four.

I was kind of a curious kid, with lots of questions about everything. After the millionth question about how Santa made everything work, she finally said “It’s us. Mom and Dad buy the presents.” I was a little disappointed, but still loved the idea of Santa Claus, still made my list and helped keep the illusion alive as my brothers came along. Since I’ve always enjoyed myths and legends and fanciful things like that, I saw no reason to put Kris Kringle off as something for children. I’ve loved reading how the story plays out in different cultures and have added those pieces into the telling for my own children.

There’s a part of all of us—even as adults—that wants to have magic and tradition in our lives. It doesn’t matter how old we get, how busy we get or how seriously we think we should take life. There’s part of all of us that wants a Santa Claus.

It’s the part of us that pays an extra $5 when we pay for our coffee to get the person behind us.

It’s the part that gets choked up when we hear children sing Christmas carols.

It’s the part of us that wants to give to others—not because of what we might get back—but because it’s good to give.

It’s the part of us that knows it’s not the number of gifts or the number on the price tag that matters. It’s the giving. It’s the time we slow down and spend with our families and loved ones and make the day special.

There is a piece of all of us that wants to keep that magical glow of holy-day, no matter what religion we practice, what language we speak or what we call our tradition. There is an intrinsic piece of us that wants to be a light in the bleak midwinter, and to pass that light onto others. There is a part in each of us that wants peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

So yes, there is a Santa Claus. It’s that magical piece of each of us that wants to be of benefit and make the world shine just a little bit brighter.

And besides that, it said so in the New York Sun, so I know it must be true:

Merry Christmas from all of us at elephant journal.