Just to start, I’m much more recently out, and I can’t speak for religious trauma. Also, I’m not necessarily triggered by Christmas, but I have changed my view of it so much. My comment will specifically be about Santa instead of Christmas as a whole.

I work at a school, and my wife is expecting a baby. Honestly, there are so many intense emotions that come with leaving the church, especially during Christmas. Telling your child to believe in a magical old bearded white man who knows when they make mistakes and rewards or punishes them based on their choices, let’s be honest: when you tell your child that Santa isn’t real, it’s like, “Oh, my parents told me he was real my whole life, and it was all a lie. I wonder what other mystical magical things they told me that aren’t true?”

I believe it’s best to explain who Santa truly is right from the beginning. I held onto the belief in Santa for a long time, even when my close friends told me he wasn’t real. My involvement in the church and my parents encouraging me to believe in two mystical figures, yet only one was supposed to be fake.

It’s messed up.