It is Christmas again and all that this entails. For families with young children, one of the choices to make is what to tell them about Christmas. Do responsible parents tell them it's only about shopping, presents, parties and overeating? Or should parents tell them the true meaning of Christmas is the birth of Christ who died on the cross to pay for our sins?
Should parents tell their children that Christmas is all about receiving gifts that are brought by Santa Clause, or should they tell them about the real St. Nicholas who was a champion of the poor and needy?
St. Nicholas is the Real Santa Clause
Santa Claus has become the central image of Christmas for many people; that jovial plump man with his long silvery beard and moustache framing a smiling mouth and smiling eyes. There are so many traditions that have contributed to this image, such as the fact that he rides through the air on a sleigh pulled by reindeer and will enter the house by coming down the chimney with a sack of presents.
Children are asked to place a mince pie and glass of sherry ready for Santa to eat when he is done with leaving the presents in their bedrooms. They may have written a wish list and mailed it to Santa, who apparently lives in the North Pole with his reindeer.
Who was St. Nicholas?
The fake Santa Clause ( taken from the Dutch Sinterklaus) is based on a genuine Saint who lived in the 4th Century. St. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra in Lycia (modern Turkey) and he was known for his extraordinary generosity to the people who lived in his region.
He gave all of his inheritance to the needy, and was especially kind to the children. He was also a great help to sailors and this has led him to be adopted as patron saint for sailors as well as for children. He is reputed to have caused the Miracle of the Wheat, where a ship load of wheat was unloaded for the starving people during a famine, and when the remaining wheat was measured it was exactly the same as before the wheat was unloaded.
It is said that he was imprisoned for defending the beliefs of the church and that he even punched someone during a heated debate at one of the early church councils.
Saint Nicholas' Day Celebrations
His Saints day, December 6th, is celebrated in many different ways around the world and it's clear that in past times, the genuine Santa Claus was regarded as much more than just a jovial fat man with a beard in a red suit. He seems to have lost quite a lot in the translation.
The Danger of the Santa Clause Myth
The problem with promoting the myth in exclusion of the truth is that children will be misled. Parents often hesitate to talk to children about spiritual matters, as if it's too dangerous a place to lead their children. However to lead them down a fake path is surely much worse.
By adhering to the myth of Santa Clause, are parents inculcating their children into a purely materialistic way of thinking that revels in selfishness and ignores charity - the exact opposite of what St. Nicholas stood for? Maybe it's time for a total rethink of the Santa Clause concept.
