In an effort not to dilute the meaning of Christmas, some parents try to avoid the whole
Santa Claus thing. It’s not easy.
Santa was absent from my first child’s first Christmas. I was bent on keeping the focus on
Christ. My husband rolled his eyes and went along with it. By year two, we embraced Santa
and he became a distinct part of our Christmas. Was this a compromise? No. Can gifts
be overdone? Sure. But the Magi brought gifts to the baby Jesus. And Christ Himself is the
ultimate gift.
In his book, THE TRUE SAINT NICHOLAS, radio host and author William Bennett tells the
story of the precursor of Santa. Bill Bennett, a former US Secretary of Education, seeks to
show that Saint Nicholas “matters to Christmas.”
Nicholas was likely born in what is now Turkey to a wealthy, childless couple, an answer to
their prayers. Nicholas’s parents, devout Christians, saw in their son’s childhood actions
indications that he would “…serve God and man in a remarkable way.” Their intuition was
correct in ways they never imagined and would never see. When they died in a plague.
Young Nicholas went to live with his uncle in a monastery and ultimately resolved to
train for the priesthood. This meant giving away his possessions including his substantial
inheritance. The ways in which he did this gained him a reputation for kindness and
generosity, a mantle placed centuries later on the ample shoulders of Santa Claus.
Nicholas became bishop of the coastal city of Myrna. His faith carried him — and
encouraged others — though storms at sea, and persecutions in Rome. He lived to see
Constantine take power and encourage the spread of Christianity. To address doctrinal
differences, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea. Tradition says Nicholas was there,
opposing heresy.
After his death, Nicholas became known as ‘the Wonderworker’ and his power to change
hearts became legend. Stories have him battling pagan deities and demons, guiding and
healing. He was known never to take credit, but always to point people to God and trust in
Him. The name Saint Nicholas traveled far. Churches and basilicas were dedicated to him.
He starred in miracle plays. Holidays were celebrated in his honor. Children were named
after him.
Bill Bennett explains that the Protestant reformers opposed and tore at traditions and
art that honored saints. By the end of the 16th
religious life of Europe, but not from people’s hearts. Dr. Bennett points out that he may
have lost his place in churches, but he moved into people’s homes.
century Nicholas was banished from the
Commerce and literature turned Saint Nicholas to our uniquely American gift-giver, Santa
Claus.
Santa Claus is, Bennett writes, “…the result of a Christ-inspired goodness that has rippled
across seventeen centuries,… a manifestation of Saint Nicholas’s decision to give to others.”
Keeping Santa a part of Christmas doesn’t diminish the “reason for the season.”