{"title":"The hidden power of children in Christmas traditions: Unveiling the role of secrecy and agency","authors":"Martí Torra-Merin","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12845","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n <p>The standard narrative surrounding Christmas figures like Santa Claus and the Three Wise Men often portrays children as passive recipients of adult-orchestrated illusions. This perspective overlooks the active role that children play in sustaining these traditions. Drawing on a study conducted in Catalonia, Spain, and existing literature, this article challenges the conventional wisdom by using the lens of secrecy theory to explore how children exercise their agency. It argues that children are not just passive actors but essential participants whose understanding of secrecy contributes to the perpetuation of these cultural figures.</p>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"39 6","pages":"3-5"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12845","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Anthropology Today","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8322.12845","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The standard narrative surrounding Christmas figures like Santa Claus and the Three Wise Men often portrays children as passive recipients of adult-orchestrated illusions. This perspective overlooks the active role that children play in sustaining these traditions. Drawing on a study conducted in Catalonia, Spain, and existing literature, this article challenges the conventional wisdom by using the lens of secrecy theory to explore how children exercise their agency. It argues that children are not just passive actors but essential participants whose understanding of secrecy contributes to the perpetuation of these cultural figures.
期刊介绍:
Anthropology Today is a bimonthly publication which aims to provide a forum for the application of anthropological analysis to public and topical issues, while reflecting the breadth of interests within the discipline of anthropology. It is also committed to promoting debate at the interface between anthropology and areas of applied knowledge such as education, medicine, development etc. as well as that between anthropology and other academic disciplines. Anthropology Today encourages submissions on a wide range of topics, consistent with these aims. Anthropology Today is an international journal both in the scope of issues it covers and in the sources it draws from.