Your gift to the Star’s Santa Claus Fund can help restore a child’s faith in joy and community

One question keeps weaving through so many of the big political stories of 2022: What happens when people stop believing in government or even democracy?

The question has been front and centre in the United States since the 2020 presidential election, which was dismissed as illegitimate by a disturbing number of Americans, including many Republican candidates in this week’s mid-terms.

Here in Canada, last week was filled with extraordinary declarations from some of the key figures in this year’s convoy protest who were testifying at public hearings in Ottawa. Though the motives of the various convoy organizers were wildly different when they converged on the capital last winter, they all appeared to share a basic belief that government was not a force for good anymore, but something inflicted upon them.

“I was done with the crap that Canada was going through,” said trucker Brigitte Belton, describing the moment that galvanized her into organizing the protest that paralyzed Canada’s capital last February. “And I was definitely done with the behaviour of Canadians.”

Whether or not one shares this suspension of basic belief in community and government, we can probably all agree that it’s rooted in some kind of disappointment — a feeling among these dissenters that democracy doesn’t work or stopped working for them.

This is alarming, but it’s also sad. When people stop believing in the very idea of government, that’s not fake news, it’s bad news.

What does this have to do with Santa Claus, you may be wondering? Why is it, when I was asked to write about the importance of the Santa Claus Fund this year, am I thinking of crumbling faith in our democratic institutions?

You don’t have to believe in Santa Claus to believe in Christmas. The holiday, as everyone knows, is much more than a man in a red suit or the gifts under a tree. But Santa and those gifts are a symbol of joy, generosity and, yes, a belief in community.

We’ve all watched the Christmas movies. When people don’t believe in Christmas anymore, it’s because they’ve been disappointed. Their hearts have shrunk (“How the Grinch Stole Christmas;”) they are facing economic ruin (“It’s a Wonderful Life;”) their real lives don’t match their happy-family dreams (“Miracle on 34th Street.”)

Those movies, along with all the other trappings of the holiday season, will soon be ubiquitous, like the holiday tunes on permanent loop in all the stores. But for those who can’t afford the spending spree celebrated in so many ads, songs and films, Christmas can be a time of impossibly raised expectations. No parent wants their kids to be disappointed at Christmas. No one wants a child to feel that this holiday is for other, luckier children.

More than a century ago, Star publisher Joseph Atkinson founded the Santa Claus Fund, to make sure underprivileged children in the city wouldn’t be excluded from Christmas. Atkinson, who had grown up in poverty himself, wanted as many children as possible to find something under the tree. The fund has been distributing tens of thousands of gifts to children every year since.

This Christmas holds the potential to be really tough for many families. Rampant inflation and the rising cost of living — the top issues in the political news — are hitting households hard, especially those who were already having a difficult time making ends meet. The same frustration making people give up on government could easily spill over into Christmas too. Shaken faith in institutions, whether that’s democracy or a holiday, starts with disappointment.

Children under 12 will have plenty of time to learn that democracy isn’t perfect. But it’s far too young an age for them to stop believing in Christmas, to regard the holiday as something that only works for those who can afford it.

I don’t know if there’s a direct connection between those who believe in Christmas and those who believe in democracy, but it stands to reason that if you can lose faith in the community spirit of this holiday, you might get cynical about the whole idea of community itself.

The goal of the Santa Claus Fund this year is to put 50,000 gift boxes in the hands of children under 12 around the Greater Toronto Area. The Star is asking, as it does every year, for help from readers to make this possible. Any and all donations are welcome.

I’m not going to tell you that one Christmas gift is going to save democracy. But your contribution to the Santa Claus Fund could go a long way in saying it’s not time to totally give up on institutions and the community we celebrate every year at this time.

If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca

Susan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based columnist covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @SusanDelacourt

GOAL: $1.5 million

TO DATE: $164,783

How to donate

With your gift, you can help provide holiday gift boxes that inspire hope and joy to 50,000 underprivileged children.

Online: To donate by Visa, Mastercard or Amex, scan this QR code or use our secure form at thestar.com/santaclausfund

By cheque: Mail to The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, One Yonge St., Toronto, ON M5E 1E6

By phone: Call 416-869-4847

The Star does not authorize anyone to solicit on its behalf. Tax receipts will be issued.

To volunteer: scfvolunteer@thestar.ca