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.”