Santa Claus: the white lie of ChristmasMumbai, Dec 20(AZINS) "He's making a list and checking it twice, Gonna find out who's naughty or nice..", went the carol, warning children that Santa could well do a rethink about those gifts if they didn't behave. But most children were more like Nat King Cole's The Christmas Song, "They know that Santa's on his way…He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh…And every mother's child is gonna spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly…"

Easter bunny, budha man, bogeyman, Santa Claus. How our parents conned us! And it was so easy to believe because Santa, well, he was all around – at the mall, heading the carol parade, embracing the priest in church, putting on that beard in the bedroom... ho, oh, oh!

We collected incriminating evidence to the tune of I saw Mommy kissin' Santa Claus, and confronted the parents. And they finally admitted the truth – there is no Santa. So those painstakingly handwritten letters, swept floors, good grades, clean nails… it all went down the chimney.

Many have had this Grinch-who-stole-the-Christmas moment. In most cases, its disappointment with some comedy thrown in. Like the case of my sister, Andrea, now a 25-year-old business analyst. She was around 10 when a classmate gave her Santa's North Pole postal address. She wrote to him on perfumed flower-shaped paper and asked for a computer. Mom played along, took her to the postbox and paid for the stamps. In three days, a postman showed up at the doorstep, grinning and fished out that letter. Andrea wasn't home and we plotted over how to break it her. So, I erased 'computer' and put cow dung. I told her she made a mistake while writing and that there are no cows in North Pole, so Santa didn't have the dung. But she saw through it and there was a massive fight till mom told her the truth. She was disappointed, more with me than Santa.

And some are Grinch personified. Writer Sohini Dasgupta, 25, stole her little sister's chocolates because she wanted more gifts! "I already got an Enid Blyton, but the chocolates my sister got in their holly-wreath decorations were tempting. When mom got to know, she herself said, "It's not Santa but me giving you those gifts, so you had better return your sister's!"

Some find out when curiosity gets the better of them. Chef Ann Dias, 63, also realised the truth when she was around 10. One Christmas Eve, she heard a cousin shouting he couldn't find his 'clothes'. She peeked into his room only to find him dressing up as Santa! At the Christmas party, when 'Santa' came to shake hands, she yelled, "I know it's you!" He ssshed her into playing along.

There are those who are born sleuths. Writer Samantha Dias, 27, says she was seven when she got suspicious. Santa had gifted her roller skates, exactly what she had mentioned in passing. "Next year, I kept an eye out and saw my parents place gifts under the tree. When I asked, they said they were Santa's helpers and he asked them to pass on the gifts. It seemed plausible because they reasoned it so well. When the same happened next year, I told mom I don't think Santa is real, but I still like gifts and would keep the 'secret' safe for my little brother Joshua."

Some parents go overboard with the convincing. Graphic designer, Natasha D'Souza 29, at 9, along with her siblings would compile their 'wants' — stuff that their mom would otherwise not buy like bubblegum, chips, toys and poppins — on one sheet and in a stocking. She would say, "Help me make kulkuls and clean the house. If Santa sees you doing this, you will get what you asked for." But one Christmas, they found no gifts. Their mom pacified them saying, "Maybe Santa missed our house…' and she'd ask Santa, the one standing outside Monginis cake shop every Christmas, why. She came in an hour with the gifts dumped in one bag. "She said Santa apologized because he forgot our house in the rush to deliver everyone's gifts. And then, she showed us Santa's letter to us, which said, 'Dear Natasha, Chrisbel and Brendon... I'm sorry about last night. Also, I couldn't find your X gift so I got you Y...' My siblings thought Santa was 'so cool!' But I figured mom had forgotten, and got our stuff from the bazaar and wrote the note in different handwriting." Later, the neighbourhood kids confirmed her thoughts.

Some find out by accident. Like 35-year-old HR professional Rochelle Albuquerque, who was about 10. Her dad had taught her to write in cursive for Santa, and she would pen long letters – decorated with holly leaves – relating how she had been good girl and studied well. Mom would post the letters. From cycle to fake nails, the gifts would come, all wrapped up, just as she had asked. And then one day, she visited her mom's office. "I found the keys to mom's desk drawer and opened. And lo! I found a bundle of my letters! Mom tried convincing me that somebody left them there. I was very disappointed." Now mother to a tot, will she burst his bubble? "No. Let him find out."

Some parents themselves confess. Homemaker Leena Punjabi, 31, was told the truth about Santa by her mom. "I got a doll, sharpener or toothbrush, whatever I wanted. It was gift-wrapped and put in a stocking or placed by my bedside. But once I reached 8, mom herself told me. And then I just stopped asking for gifts. I guess the novelty had worn off." Now, her five-year-son has requested Santa for a large Hot Wheel set, which he's going to get.

And some parents just don't give up. Fashion photographer and writer Anwesha Mandal recalls, "Three years ago, I saw mom sneaking towards the Christmas tree to put my gift under. When, I started to laugh, she smiled, 'What? The real santa was just here.'"