Santa-Sannin Confusion
How do you explain to a 22 month old child that Naruto's Jiraiya is not Santa Claus?
You can attempt to correct them gently, saying; "No, sweetie, that's not Santa, that's a cartoon." But in the end, the child will look at you, look at the cartoon, and declare, "Santa!"
You can attempt to explain the difference to said child like so; "No, honey, that isn't Santa. Santa is a man who gives Christmas presents to boys and girls the world over. That man, is Jiraiya; he's a pervert." In the end, the child will look at you, look at the character on the TV screen, and say; "It's Santa!"
You can try to explain even further, saying, "No, love, that isn't Santa. Santa has a beard. Jiraiya doesn't have one, so he can't be Santa."
Then the child will look at you and proceed to point out the similarities. "White," the child will say in reference to Jiraiya's hair. "Red," they will say and rush to the screen in order to point to the clothing on said anime character. "Santa," the child will then declare firmly and happily.
Then, you will find yourself staring at the small child, whether it's in surprise at their logic, or simply because you realize you are no closer to explaining that Jiraiya is not Santa Claus than you were when the conversation began. By this time, if the word Sannin is uttered by one of the animated characters rushing about on screen, the child will smile in triumph and exclaim gleefully, "Santa!"
It is at this point that you will find yourself laughing gently and shaking your head, while coming to the realization that there is absolutly nothing you can do or say to disuade the child in their beliefs that Jiraiya the Sannin is in fact Santa Claus. You may even question why you bothered trying to explain the difference in the first place.
So how to you explain to a 22 month old child that Naruto's Jiraiya isn't Santa Claus?
I have no idea whatsoever.
Hugs and Oreos!
Iyou