Aneesha Madhok was the happiest when I got to know Santa wasn’t real

Seeing a different person dress up as Santa every time she would go to the mall often made American-Indian actor Aneesha Madhok says that she often wondered if her parents were the ones who were mistaken about the whole concept of Santa Claus! The actor, who will soon be seen in the Hollywood film Bully High, says that she was so relieved when her parents finally told her they were the ones getting her gifts every Christmas.

“When I was 5 years old, my parents told me that Santa Claus wasn’t real, which was probably the happiest day of my life. I was so happy my parents were honest with me because all this time I knew Santa wasn’t real. Every time we would go to malls there would always be a different Indian guy dressed up as Santa, and I would think as a kid ‘are my parents naïve!? Can’t they see there’s a different guy dressed up as Santa every time we go to any Christmas event?’ And in pictures, I would see a Caucasian white Santa Claus!” laughs the actor.

The actor adds, “So my fondest memory of Christmas from my childhood was that Santa isn’t real. School was difficult enough and having the pressure of being nice and not on the naughty list was stressful for a 5-year-old!”

Talking about how she celebrates the festival, Aneesha says, “So we celebrate Christmas by putting a Christmas tree and giving gifts to each other. Here is wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope everyone follows what Jesus Christ did- serve humanity, not only on Christmas but every day!”