The more I learn about St. Nicholas, the more I like him. He was indeed a man of God and lived a life that honored Him, so when you know the truth about St. Nicholas, or as we most commonly refer to him, Santa Clause, there's no reason to shy away from him at Christmas.
As a Christian, you may feel conflicted about Santa and all that comes with him. It can be challenging to teach your kids only about the birth of Jesus and entirely leave Santa out of the conversation because, at Christmas time, Santa is everywhere! However, I wholeheartedly believe the truth is always the best approach.
I learned a lot about Santa Claus in writing this article, and I have high hopes that you'll learn fascinating facts and have a good handle on talking to your kids about him.
My husband and I decided early on that we didn't want to lie to our kids about Santa coming down the chimney to deliver presents if they were good little girls because we knew that version of Santa didn't exist. To lie to our girls about Santa would only hurt our testimony when we taught them about Jesus.
Being Truthful
In public, or even at church, people would bend down and ask our toddlers if they were ready for Santa; they'd smile and say, sure! Although we didn't invite our children into the make-believe story of reindeer on the roof or the sight of Santa's sleigh in the night sky, we weren't against him. Our decision not to play into the Santa fun was always about being truthful.
Sometimes the girls would come home from pre-school (or elementary school) and say, "My friend believes in Santa. Can you believe it?!" Then we knew we had to teach them not to burst the bubbles of other kids' who did believe in Santa. We knew this would involve further discussion. So we let them know that most children believe in Santa and that it was okay because most parents do choose to bring in the wonder and fun of Santa.
We didn't make our kids pretend to believe in Santa. If asked whether or not they believed in him, they would answer truthfully, but if they weren't asked, they didn't destroy the beliefs of their classmates. Santa is not a bad guy and doesn't need to be taboo or painted in a bad light.
The History of Santa and Christmas
It's wise to inform your children about Santa Claus so they know how to respond in conversations and circumstances that will arise at Christmas because, spoiler alert: Santa Claus has more to do with Christmas than Jesus! Yep, I said it. I find it's best to explain from the beginning:
Santa Claus' name evolved from a real man, St. Nicholas, born in the third century in Patara (now Demre, Turkey). As St. Nicholas' name evolved, so did the story surrounding him. He never lived at the North Pole. Nor did he have elves and flying reindeer. But there's no need to omit or demonize Santa Claus because his origin story is beautiful and pure!
St. Nicholas was a godly man (and bishop) who desired to serve God and obey Jesus' words in Matthew 19:21, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (cf. Luke 18:22)
If you remember, Jesus spoke these words to a rich young ruler. Like the rich young ruler, St. Nicholas was born into a wealthy family. But St. Nicholas was Christian and used his wealth and inheritance to serve those in need. He helped the sick and suffering. Sound like anyone you know?
This generous Christian man gave thoughtful gifts. He knew the specific needs of individuals or families and would deliver them in secret. When word began to spread, children would hang their socks or stockings outside their windows, hoping St. Nicholas would bring them a gift.
Isn't it fascinating to see the nuances in his story and how our Christmas traditions today have carried on over several centuries?!
Eventually, St. Nicholas suffered for his faith and was imprisoned and put into exile (like most Christians during his time, AD 284-305)*. Before he died and after he was released from prison, he was part of the council to preserve unity in the church, and I thought that was a fact worth noting.
St. Nicholas was not about commercialism and greed; he was a man of God who lived in humility and service to the Lord. I'm glad his name still lives on, even if humanity has manipulated it for profit and self-interest.
Our Christmas tradition originally started on a different day. The people honored and celebrated St. Nicholas each year on the anniversary of his death, December 6th. The day was celebrated differently depending on the European country. But the Christmas tradition of gift-giving came from this anniversary celebration.
We celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th, and we call it Christmas, but the truth about Jesus and Christmas is that there was no Christmas celebration in the Bible.
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrhh were the gifts given to Jesus at birth. The people of Bethlehem, however, did not have a gift exchange. There were no Christmas trees and no snow. I hope you won't take this too hard, but it wasn't even December. GASP! According to the biblical studies of Ian Paul, Jesus was most likely born in September, somewhere between 6 and 4 BC.
Funny enough, Santa Claus has more to do with Christmas than Jesus. But it's okay that we make Jesus the reason for the season because He is the reason we live and breathe. He is the source of all things. I don't see anything wrong with taking a secular holiday and making it about Jesus. I'm okay with making every holiday about Jesus!
For the first fifty years of the nineteenth century, Christians didn't even observe the Christmas holiday because it did not align with Christian practices and values (at that time). They had gone away from St. Nicholas and turned Santa Clause into something completely secular. The Santa we have today is more of a secular variety than that of a saint with sincere convictions of generosity and alignment with God's Word.
The Santa We Know Today
Santa gained elves and a sleigh in 1821 with the popular book, The Children's Friend, published by William B. Gilley. It was in this book that Santa's arrival was celebrated on Christmas Eve instead of December 6th. In 1823 Santa's new image was further imprinted with the poem The Night Before Christmas. (It was initially titled, A Visit from St. Nicholas.)
Santa Claus made his way back into the church in the 1850s because the churches found that if they included him, their attendance went up! It's humorous that the new secular Santa helped bring Christmas back to the church.
I hope you now have plenty of information you feel comfortable sharing with your children. To help you a bit more, here's a simple list:
There was a real man named St. Nicholas who gave all that he had to the less fortunate.
We have the tradition of gift-giving and even stockings because of him.
He was a Christian who cared about unity in the church.
It's okay to include him in your Christmas tradition because he has more to do with the secular holiday of Christmas than Jesus. (hehe)
The more I learn about St. Nicholas, the more I like him. He was indeed a man of God and lived a life that honored Him, so when you know the truth about St. Nicholas, or as we most commonly refer to him, Santa Clause, there's no reason to shy away from him at Christmas.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Rawpixel
Vanessa Luu is a wife, mother, and faith-based writer. She speaks and writes to believers to encourage them to live authentically with God.
