Perspective: Why I Still Believe in Santa Claus

Merry Christmas from the Wayside!

I share these thoughts, hoping they are of help to someone else.

Why I Still Believe in Santa Claus

Scripture:

Then Jesus said to His host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Luke 14:12-14 (CEB)

And in our world of plenty

We can spread a smile of joy

Throw your arms around the world

At Christmastime

From "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid

In my all-time favorite Christmas-themed television commercial, a little boy walks up to a marine in a dress blue uniform and says, "Excuse me... Excuse me, are you Santa Claus?" The marine doesn't say a word, remaining completely still and stone faced. The boy then says, "I heard you might be him." There is still no response from the marine. The boy then says, "If you are him, here's my list." The marine then discretely opens his hand to receive the boy's Christmas list. The boy gives the marine his list and walks away whispering, "He is Santa Claus."¹

This commercial is, of course, promoting the Toys for Tots program, which was started by Major William L. Hendricks in 1947. Run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, this program collects and distributes toys for children whose parents cannot afford Christmas presents.² Though people do not always agree on which military actions are right, I believe that the Toys for Tots program is one military operation that all of us can approve.

I think that this poignant television commercial makes an interesting statement about the identity of Santa Claus.

When I was a child, on Christmas mornings I would find around the Christmas tree a bunch of unwrapped gifts that were not there the night before. Supposedly the gifts were brought by Santa Claus during the night. As the story goes, Santa Claus, usually depicted as a jolly, somewhat-fat man wearing a red suit, lives at the North Pole and builds toys with a staff of elven workers. On Christmas Eve, he sets out on a sleigh pulled by eight flying reindeer to deliver the toys to the well-behaved children of the world. Some news and weather stations even track Santa's movements.

Eventually I came to realize that it was, in fact, my mother who left the gifts around the tree during the night and enjoyed the milk and cookies I left for Santa.³ Nevertheless, I still believe in Santa Claus, though not in the same way I did as a child.

Nicholas of Myra was born to a wealthy family in the third century A.D. in Asia Minor, the region now known as Turkey. When he lost his parents at a young age, he was taken in by his uncle, a bishop in the church. Nicholas himself became a priest, and, while he was still young, he became the bishop of the town of Myra.⁴ Nicholas was a man who loved God and understood that what a person does for someone in need the person does for Christ, for he used the wealth he inherited to help the poor.⁵ In fact, he was known most of all for his acts of charity.

One story tells of a man who had three daughters. Because the man could not afford to provide dowries for his daughters, they would have probably remained unmarried and would have likely ended up becoming prostitutes to survive. Nicholas learned of the family's plight, and, and on the nights before each daughter came of marriageable age, he secretly threw a bag of gold into the house. When the youngest daughter came of age, the father awaited the secret benefactor so that he might thank him. When he confronted Nicholas, Nicholas told him to thank God instead.⁶

Eventually Nicholas was canonized as a saint, and December 6, the Feast of St. Nicholas, became a day when people would do anonymous acts of kindness for people in need.⁷ The name Santa Claus is derived from the name Saint Nicholas, and it is from the ancient stories of St. Nicholas that our stories of Santa Claus evolved.

Nowadays Santa Claus has become a symbol of materialism at Christmas. Shopping malls and retailers around the country host men dressed as Santa Claus in mock "Santa's Workshops" as a ploy to get parents of young children into stores to do some shopping. Children tell these Santa look-alikes what toys they want for Christmas, and the parents, in turn, buy these toys for their children. Retailers start this process earlier and earlier each year. This year, the "Santa's Workshop" at the mall in my town was actually set up a few days before Halloween.

I think that Christians need to reclaim Santa Claus - or St. Nicholas - as a symbol of acts of kindness toward those in need. I think that at Christmas we need to remember not only the good children - namely one's own children - but also the children of the needy. Author and pastor Adam Hamilton recommends giving to charity at least the same amount of money one spends on presents for one's friends and family.⁸ One charity I like to support at Christmas is Triune Mercy Center, a non-denominational church in my town that serves the homeless and the needy.⁹

In Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, writer William J. Lederer tells the story of a time he was stuck in a California airport terminal on Christmas Eve, trying to get home to Honolulu. William has been asked to write a story titled "Is there a Santa Claus?" for the children in his neighborhood, and he is was worried about answering the question honestly. Amid the panicked masses in the airport terminal, he watches an older, jolly, round man offer people cheerful words of encouragement and give people hot coffee and other amenities from a homemade pushcart. He decides to assist the odd old man and learns that the man spends his vacation time at Christmas each year helping stressed travelers. The writer is able to honestly tell the neighborhood children that there is indeed a Santa Claus.¹⁰

I still believe in Santa Claus, because, when we follow the example of a saint who has gone before us, the saint lives on in us. The real Santa Claus is not some magical person who lives at the North Pole or some man in a red suit at a local shopping mall. The real Santa Claus is a person who cheerfully serves irritable and panicked people in a crowded airport terminal, a marine who delivers toys to needy children, or any person performs any act of kindness for someone in need.

In recent years, as more and more people have started saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," many people have been fighting to "keep 'Christ' in Christmas." In my opinion, we cannot truly keep Christ in Christmas unless we remember the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the lonely, because these are the people with whom Christ directly identifies.¹¹ Christ says, "I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me... I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me."¹²

May you have a merry Christmas, and, as you spend some time with your friends and family, may you also remember the needy in your midst.


Notes:
1 - You know you want to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3k1SOE760Y
2 - Wikipedia: Toys for Tots
3 - Actually, my mom hates milk, so she may have poured the milk down the drain.
4 - Wikipedia: Saint Nicholas (Section: Life)
5 - St. Nicholas Center: "Who Is Saint Nicholas?"
6 - Wikipedia: Saint Nicholas (Section: Legends and Folklore)
7 - Wikipedia: Saint Nicholas (Section: Formal Veneration)
8 - Adam Hamilton. The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem. 2011, Abingdon Press. ch 3
9 - http://triunemercy.org/
10 - William J. Lederer.  "Is There a Santa Claus?" Published in Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul. 1997, Health Communications, Inc.  pp 84-88
11 - For more thoughts on this subject see my previous Christmas perspective, "How to truly keep Christ in Christmas."
12 - Matthew 25:35-36,40 (CEB)


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