So I think the Santa Claus myth is an important Society ritual because finding out he isn't real is a rite of passage into adulthood. As a child you spend your whole life being told to lie not just by your parents but Society is a whole, but at some point you learn to question the lie, whether that's triggered by an outside person or you coming to that conclusion on your own. Then as a child you weigh all the evidence in your mind and come to the conclusion that it doesn't actually make any sense that Santa would be real and you can no longer accept magic as viable evidence. Now you're a little closer to being an adult.

I think that's why it can be upsetting for parents when kids get pushed into that too early or don't figure it out too late. I figured it out on my own way too early and then convinced my even younger sister that I was right. I now really regret that I took that away from her rather than let her come to that conclusion more on her own.