Santa's Place at Christmas

Leatrice Ann Eng, is a 58 year old teacher at George W. Miller Elementary School in Nanuet, NY. During a recent class discussion about the North Pole, one of her second graders pointed out that the North Pole was where Santa Clause lives. Teacher Eng quickly replied that not only does Santa NOT live at the North Pole ... but he is NOT real and it was parents who placed Christmas gifts under the tree! Ouch! In the days following her remarks, Eng was overwhelmed with calls and emails from angry parents. To make amends, Eng called each of her student's parents to apologize for her statements. I guess she'll go down in the history of that town as "The Eng who stole Christmas!"  


All of this brings to mind the matter of Santa's place in Christmas tradition. Christians differ markedly concerning the "Santa issue."  Some exclude him entirely. In their view, Santa has usurped the place of Jesus and has become an idol of the Holiday Season. Other Christians go right along with the flow and tell their children that Santa is real ... and go on to do the full blown "Santa Thing."  However, I believe there is a better approach than either of these. 


The Santa tradition is actually based on figure from history, St. Nicholas of Myra. Here is an excerpt of an article from gotquestions.org. 

"Although Santa Claus is a mythical figure, his creation is based in part on a great Christian man named Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. Nicholas was born to Christian parents who left him an inheritance when they died, which he distributed to the poor. He became a priest at a young age and was well-known for his compassion and generosity. He had a reputation for giving gifts anonymously, and he would throw bags of money into people's homes (and sometimes down their chimneys) under the cover of night to avoid being spotted.

Nicholas passed away on December 6 sometime around the 340s or 350s AD, and the day of his death became an annual feast in which children would put out food for Nicholas and straw for his donkey. It was said that the saint would come down from heaven during the night and replace the offerings with toys and treats—but only for the good boys and girls. There are many different versions of the legend of Saint Nicholas, but all are the inspiration for the jolly, red-suited gift-giver that we now know as Santa Claus."

When our kids were little, we chose to include Santa in our Christmas tradition. But we did so by telling them the story of the real Nicholas of Myra. We emphasized his compassion and generosity as examples to imitate in our own lives. And of course, we told them that the fact that Santa Clause was not real would be "our secret." We didn't want them to be the one's to "spill the beans" for their little friends who believed in Santa's existence. 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj