Explaining Christmas to Elnor
"Sooooo," Elnor's brows furrowed in concentration, "parents buy gifts for their children at this particular time of the year, regardless of whether the children need the gifts at that time or not?"
"Yes," Picard nodded. "It's what's called a 'tradition'."
"But then they lie to their children, telling them that someone who doesn't even exist brought them their presents? Why would they do that?" Elnor seemed even more confused than before.
"I think it's because. . . . ," Picard thought about the inequalities with some parents being able to afford lavish gifts for their children while others struggled to afford anything at all. Despairing of explaining this to Elnor, he ended, "I actually don't know why they do that."
Elnor wasn't yet ready to give up trying to understand. "They tie the acquisition of gifts to the child's behavior for the entire previous year? Well-behaving children get good presents and ill-behaved children get bad presents or no presents?"
"Well, yes," Picard acknowledged, "but that's not what really happens. Parents always try to get their children the gifts they would really need or like."
"So why lie to them? About any of it?" asked Elnor. "And what do they think will happen when their children find out about the big lie that their parents' have been telling them for years? It can't be perpetuated indefinitely."
"I think it's called part of 'growing up'", Picard said sagely.
"How can finding out that their own parents have been lying to them for years help children grow up?", Elnor persisted.
"Umm, I think it's part of learning that. . . look, Elnor, I don't know! I don't know why parents lie to their children and I don't know why this tradition persists." Picard finally admitted, flustered.
Soji, who had been waiting patiently at the nearby replicator on La Sirena, came over with cups of hot chocolate for all. "Elnor," she started to explain, "it's much deeper than tradition. It's about what happens when one religion tries to displace another. Some argue that the original tradition started as a festival of lights on the longest, darkest day of the year."
"Okay," Elnor acknowledged. "I can understand why people would want light in the midst of darkness. But what has this got to do with the rest of it?"
Soji took a long sip of her hot chocolate. This was going to be a long explanation.