better watch out,
better not cry,
MattHaney/DN
[coupon]
5%0FF
Regular Priced
Merchandise
Lincoln 14th & P
Omaha 132nd & Center
Sorry, NOT VALID with
Any Other Offer,
Previous Purchases,
Doc Martens, Lucky, or
Fragrance.
Expires 12/31/99
Distinctive Clothing, Sportswear, and Shoes
Lincoln- 14th & P Omaha- 132nd & Center
“Truth about Santa
comes in different
forms, reactions
By Becky Jacobsen
Staffwriter
s Christmas Eve gets closer, the stories of Santa
are told, and young children get excited for the annu
im of the man in the red suit and his eight reindeer.
_NL students remember that moment when they
found out Santa wasn’t real, or when they figured out that
the man with the sleigh wasn’t all he was cracked up to be.
“I wasn’t told that Santa wasn’t real,” said Audrey
Bartholomew, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln fresh
man. “I compared my mom’s handwriting and figured it
out for myself.”
Carmen Barnes was told the harsh truth, and then told
to disguise what she knew was real.
“My mom told me that he wasn’t real and to act like he
was when my friends talked about him,” Barnes said.
Being told Santa wasn’t real is not the only way stu
dents learned the harsh truth about their childhood gift
When I was 6,1
got a bike. From
then on 1 knew that
Santa wasn't real
because there was
no way in heck that
he would be able to
get that bike down
the chimney."
-Shany Lavy
UNL senior
giver.
Some were smart enough to figure it
out on their own, even at a young age..
“When I was 6,1 got a bike. From
then on I knew that Santa wasn’t real
because there was no way in heck that he
would be able to get that bike down the
chimney,” said Shane Lavy, a senior psy
chology major.
Even after being told, a small amount
of students hold fast to the belief that
Santa is alive and well.
“I still believe in Santa Claus,” said
Lee Illingsworth, 21, with a laugh.
Yet others cling to the reality of Santa
for their younger siblings.
“I have to believe in Santa Claus,”
said Jennifer Krecklow, a freshman
music major. “I have a 7-year-old sister
who lives for his Christmas Eve visit.”
Santa Claus was unavailable for
comment on what he felt about the unbe
lievers.
banta Claus is a Chnstmas tradition, but not many peo
ple know where the jolly red giant and Ids story originated.
The figure on whom the red-suited benefactor is based
came from the ancient Near East St Nick’s popularity dif
fers from region to region: In die East his name appears on
seals, and in the West his special charges are small chil
dren.
The “Santa Claus” tradition came later, when northern
Europeans started giving presents in his name.
Settlers of New Amsterdam, N.Y., brought the custom
to America. The story is passed on from generation to gen
eration, each generation losing faith in the once anticipated
return of the man in the red suit
The tradition is kept alive for young children, and the
custom remains animate for following generations.
