Is Santa real? Examining children's beliefs in cultural figures and 'non-real' people

Young children understand dinosaurs and The Wiggles are (or were!) real, and that fictional characters like Peter Pan and Spongebob are not real -- but cultural figures like Santa or the Tooth Fairy occupy an ambiguous place in a child's pantheon, a new study suggests.

source https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200617150036.htm