New research shows that belief in Santa can actually rise with age, and that three-year-olds believe in St. Nick just slightly less than they believe in the garbage man. But does kids’ ” magical thinking ” have a larger purpose? According to Shirley Wang of the Wall Street Journal , scientists measured Santa-faith not only against belief in the garbage man (no word on whether any kids thought he was stealing their garbage ), but also against a made-up entity named the Candy Witch who they claimed arrived on Halloween and exchanged candy for toys. 70% of three-year-…
