Regarding the belief of Santa, I suspect Neil may agree with me, I personally believe young children should be allowed to believe in Santa. I am not a parent, but here is my reasoning:

Allowing children to believe in a physical embodiment of the spirit of giving is something more solid for a child to latch onto than just being told by a parent “you should be giving because I said so”.

Seeing other children, and adults perpetuate Santa was very re-affirming to myself as a child, instilling in me a belief that there was a man and his loyal elves out there so pure of heart, he freely gave of himself to others all over the world, bringing them joy, and that I wanted to emulate him.

Of course now that I’m older, I really can’t support Santa’s existence, but I still feel that I want to be like old Saint Nick, even just a little, bringing smiles to others (which really should be the way of the world).

Andrew, what I like best about your comment is that the same can be said for God/s and why it is a good thing for people to believe in. Creating an allegorical figure who demonstrates compassion, charity, and love instills in us those same desires. That, I believe, is why “to love is divine”