The problematic nature of Japanese Idol culture is acknowledged. I still thought this was heartwarming.
An important announcement regarding Seira Umegwa
Thank you all for your continued kind support of Idol Kyoshitsu New.
Seira Umegawa is currently in the sixth grade, and we are informing everyone that as of the time of this writing, November 25, 2024, she believes in Santa Claus.
We apologize for the suddenness of this, but following discussions between the other members of the group and Umegawa’s parents, we are requesting that fans conduct themselves, in words and actions, with the presumption that Santa Claus exists.
Since it’s sort of related and I love this story, I’m telling it.
My sister and her husband didn’t raise my (now 5yo) nephew with ‘Santa’ being real, but they also didn’t ever say he wasn’t. When he was 3, we were doing a Zoom call with the extended family and someone asked him if Santa was real. He said, “Santa’s pretend-real.”
Basically, no, he’s not, but the concept of Santa is real enough and so we talk about Santa as real.
My uncle then said, “Kind of like God!”
What could have been a dark turn for many families thankfully was just a hilarious moment for ours!
Still my favorite way to think about and describe both Santa and God, lol.