and have lived in large cities in and outside of the US most of my life

i can't imagine why i would be in a place where there are only Christians and then on top of that only Christians who have their kids believe in Santa Claus. i wouldn't choose for my kids to grow up in that type of homogenous environment unless I had to.

i think it's the parents who make more out of it than it is. if your kid doesn't believe in Santa, it's not that difficult to tell them to respect others' traditions just as you would any kid who is of another faith. unless your kid is mean or a missionary it shouldn't be an issue...