Actress Shefali Shah posted about Christmas and a childhood memory involving Santa Claus. She shared several celebration photos on Instagram with a lengthy caption. She recalled an uncle telling her, around age twelve, that Santa was not real, and her parents bought the gifts. This revelation felt like a major betrayal, breaking her belief in magic and feeling like an end to her childhood innocence.
She wrote that she should have been grateful for her parents' efforts, but felt cheated instead. That lost belief never fully returned. Having her own children later revived that sense of wonder for her, as she became the one creating the magic for them. She acknowledged they eventually outgrew it, too. Shah concluded that choosing to believe in magic anyway, even knowing the truth, is a beautiful thing. She called that kind of deliberate delusion the real solution.
She wrote that she should have been grateful for her parents' efforts, but felt cheated instead. That lost belief never fully returned. Having her own children later revived that sense of wonder for her, as she became the one creating the magic for them. She acknowledged they eventually outgrew it, too. Shah concluded that choosing to believe in magic anyway, even knowing the truth, is a beautiful thing. She called that kind of deliberate delusion the real solution.
