My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts: Santa Claus

On 6th December every year, the Church worldwide remembers and gives thanks for Santa Claus!

St. Nicholas - Bishop of Myra
An Icon from Mount Athos Greece

Well, to be specific, St. Nicholas; the original and only and for ever abiding, Santa Claus, who was bishop of Myra in the 4th century in what is now southern Turkey. He was a great champion of the orthodox Christian faith and was one of the signatories of the first Council of Nicea, where the Creed of the Christian faith was agreed. St. Nicholas was notable, amongst other things, as a man of great compassion and generosity; and it's from this that the traditions and stories around him, including that of being a miracle worker, grew.

The particular story about St. Nicholas which eventually had him evolve into Santa Claus appears in a few variations. But the one I like best goes something like this:

In the town where St. Nicholas lived, there was a poor man who had three daughters, each a year apart in age. But the man was so poor that he couldn't afford dowries so that his daughters could be married. He was at his wits end, and took the awful decision that his daughters would have to raise the money by becoming prostitutes.

St. Nicholas heard about this so, when the first daughter was old enough, and wanting to stay anonymous, he came by night to the poor man's house and threw a bag of gold through an open window, so saving the girl from an awful fate. A year later when the next daughter had to think about marriage, St. Nicholas did the same, bringing a bag of gold, by night and throwing it through the window opening. When the third daughter became eligible for marriage, St. Nicholas came to the house again, by night, but this time, all the windows being closed, he climbed on the roof of the house and threw the bag of gold down the chimney.

Now, it just so happened that the daughter had washed her stockings that evening and hung them by the mantlepiece to dry, and the bag of gold that St. Nicholas threw down the chimney fell into the girl's stocking. And so all three of the girls were saved.

Well, it might be a story, but in every story in the Christian tradition there's some truth or Truth. This story in particular gives an insight into St. Nicholas's great generosity and compassion, which has been enshrined in the giving of gifts either on 6th December in some countries around the world or on Christmas Day as in the UK. So in that way, the spirit of St. Nicholas lives on today.

I think it's a great shame to consign Santa Claus to the level of fiction and fairy tale. St. Nicholas was in his time what we would say of any person who's some sort of hero these days, colloquially - 'A Legend'. And I like to believe that he's a living legend that shows up in at least a couple of images today.

There's the larger than life 'Ho ho ho' character we see in grottoes at Christmas Fairs and shopping centres at this time of the year, complete with his sack of gifts, giving presents to children, and who comes down the chimney when everybody's asleep on Christmas Eve and leaves just what we wanted.

And then there's the one that I prefer nowadays, who we see as more of a mystical figure, amongst the decorations around the house. He carries a 'man bag' and a Christmas Tree over his shoulder. Often there's a child or two with him. He's for me the one that lives and moves between the dimensions of past and present and future. He's kindly, but a little intimidating. He can appear at will to turn a nightmare into a dream and makes dreams come true.

Both of these characters turn sadness into joy, bring light into darkness and spread love and hope and faith into a world that can serve up so much tragedy. And whenever we give gifts to others that do the same for them, at whatever time of year, then we can honestly say that we believe in Santa Claus, because it's in the same spirit that St. Nicholas gave that we are giving too. It's the way that God gives and the way in which Jesus Christ gave himself out of love.

Yes, Santa Claus is a real, living legend!

The Prayer of St. Nicholas' Day:

Almighty Father, lover of souls,
who chose your servant Nicholas
to be a bishop in the Church,
that he might give freely out of the treasures of your grace:
make us mindful of the needs of others
and, as we have received, so teach us also to give;
through Jesus Christ our your Son our Lord.