Now I realize that this is a controversial topic for many Christians, so I hope that we can all respect each other’s decisions. Many of the families that I admire most in this world have chosen to completely disassociate Santa from their family celebrations. I have a high regard for the commitment of these families to keep the focus on Christ, and I have no intention of convincing them to do otherwise.

However, I know there are some parents, like me, who have fond childhood memories of Santa fantasies and jingles. Though I wholeheartedly agree that the focus should be on Christ during the Christmas season, I wondered if it was necessary to toss out all the old books and ornaments that had any association with Santa. As I struggled with this decision, a variety of thoughts came to mind.

First off, children love fantasy. That is why so many children’s stories include talking animals, fairies, magic, etc. Fantasy can encourage both creativity and imagination in children. As they mature and begin to distinguish between fantasy and reality, parents can play an important role in helping to clarify what is true and what is fiction. Can this apply to Santa fantasies? I looked to two of my favorite authors in the genre of fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, for some help on this question.

Tolkien, best known for his Lord of the Rings series, was a father of four. Over the course of 20 years, he wrote letters to his children in the name of Father Christmas (the English counterpart to Santa Claus). He included his own sketches of Father Christmas, the North Polar Bear and the North Pole (which he depicted as a literal pole). One year, the North Polar Bear, Father Christmas’ somewhat clumsy assistant, had an incident that forced Father Christmas to move:

“It all happened like this: one very windy day last November my hood blew off and went and stuck on the top of the North Pole. I told him not to, but the North Polar Bear climbed up to the thin top to get it down – and he did. The pole broke in the middle and fell on the roof of my house, and the North Polar Bear fell through the hole it made in to the dining room with my hood over his nose, and all the snow fell off the roof into the house and melted and put out all the fires and ran down into the cellars where I was collecting this year’s presents, and the North Polar bear’s leg got broken. He is well again now, but I was so cross with him that he says he won’t try to help me again. I expect his temper is hurt, and will be mended by next Christmas.”¹

Occasionally, even the North Polar Bear would send a letter to the children. He had to excuse “his bad English spelling from the fact that the language spoken at the North Pole was Arctic.”One year, the North Polar Bear got lost in Goblin caves (1932) and later “invented an alphabet from Goblin markings on the walls, and sent a short letter in it.”The children had great fun deciphering the letter.

C. S. Lewis, a friend of Tolkien, is probably best known for his Chronicles of Narnia in which he portrays a more serious Father Christmas. Though the White Witch had made it “always winter and never Christmas in Narnia,”she was beginning to lose her powers. Here is an account of the visit of Father Christmas:

“It was a sledge [sleigh], and it was reindeer with bells on their harness. But they were far bigger than the Witch’s reindeer, and they were not white but brown. And on the sledge sat a person whom everyone knew the moment they set eyes on him. He was a huge man in a bright red robe (bright as hollyberries) with a hood that had fur inside it and a great white beard that fell like a foamy waterfall over his chest. Everyone knew him because, though you see people of his sort only in Narnia, you see pictures of them and hear them talked about even in our world — the world on this side of the wardrobe door. But when you really see them in Narnia it is rather different. Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him they didn’t find it quite like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also solemn.”²

Father Christmas announces, “She [the White Witch] has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch’s magic is weakening.”He proceeds to give gifts and even delivers sugar, cream and tea “for the moment.”Then he called out, “‘Merry Christmas! Long live the true King!’ and cracked his whip, and he and the reindeer and the sledge and all were out of sight before anyone realized that they had started.”

Clearly, both Tolkien and Lewis embraced the fantasy surrounding Christmas. I especially like how Lewis used the “Father Christmas” of Narnia to call attention to Aslan, the true King (generally understood to be a type of Christ).

The beauty of our American Santa Claus is that his roots come from a historical person, St. Nicholas, who was truly a servant of Christ (not a competitor). The fact that American children are surrounded by images of Santa Claus during the Christmas season means that there are many opportunities to discuss the real St. Nicholas, a man whose life should inspire us to more fully serve God.

One aspect of the historical St. Nicholas that I have chosen to emphasize with my children is his generosity. One of the most famous stories about St. Nicholas involves him secretly delivering gold to a father and his three daughters who, through misfortune, had become destitute. The practice of giving gifts “from Santa” is really just a way of giving anonymously. Secret generosity is consistent with how St. Nicholas gave gifts, and more importantly it follows Jesus’ instruction to let our giving be done in secret. As Jesus said, “Your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4).

I have always told my children that the real St. Nicholas is in heaven with God and that all the fantasy that surrounds Santa is just “pretend.” My children are still young and love “pretend” stories (just as they love me to make up fairy tales every night before they go to bed). Though I take care to emphasize the difference between what is true and false, reality and fantasy, non-fiction and fiction, my children do not always grasp these distinctions. However, I know that with time and guidance, they will develop this discernment. When this time comes, I look forward to helping them recognize that our Christian story is so much better than fantasy, because it is miraculous, historical and TRUE!

For a good short article on the Santa controversy, see the Crosswalk blog post by Nicki Koziarz: “The Great Santa Debate.”

¹ Tolkien, J.R.R. The Father Christmas Letters. Edited by Baillie Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976.

² Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Harper Collins Publishers, 1982.

In this first part of a two part article, I will share some of the interesting history I found about the identity of Santa Claus. Part two will take a look at what we can “do” with Santa in regard to our family celebrations.

The name Santa Claus is the English form of the Dutch name for St. Nicholas Sinterklaas. Though the modern Santa Claus is associated with a world of fantasy, the historical St. Nicholas was a godly man known for his charity and generosity.

Nicholas was born in the 3rd century to wealthy Christian parents in Patara (a harbor city in modern day Turkey). It is probable that Nicholas and his parents could trace their spiritual heritage to the Apostle Paul, who stopped in Patara on his third missionary journey 200 years earlier.

It is said that Nicholas’ parents were devout believers who had long prayed for a child. When Nicholas was finally born, they devoted him to God. As an only child, he was raised with great affection and special attention. However, when Nicholas was still a young boy (likely a teenager), a plague struck his city, and both of his parents died. Though a loss like this might turn some away from God, it seems to have drawn Nicholas closer to him. The loss of his parent’s also seems to have made the boy’s heart tender to the suffering of others.

Nicholas was left with a large inheritance and decided that he would use it to honor God. He developed such a good reputation in his region that he was chosen as Archbishop of Myra (a harbor city just south and east of Patara) when he was in his early 20s, an indication that he must have demonstrated wisdom and maturity beyond his years.

During his service as Archbishop, a violent persecution of Christians began. Nicholas was almost certainly imprisoned during this time and was likely tortured for his faith. The persecution that began during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian was carried on by his successor, Galerius, for a total of eight long years.

Interestingly, following Emperor Galerius, Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, became the undisputed leader of the West. By 324 AD, Constantine claimed leadership of the entire empire and declared Christianity a legal religion. Once persecution ended and Christians gained new religious freedom, they started to face new challenges. Serious disagreements regarding doctrine began to erupt. Constantine recognized the need for unity among Christians, so in 325 AD he summoned bishops from all over the empire to meet in Nicea and discuss critical doctrinal issues. Nicholas of Myra is listed among the bishops in attendance at this meeting. Little could Nicholas have known that his name would one day be more recognized than any other in attendance at this council that developed the famous Nicene Creed.

There are a wealth of stories about Nicholas’ life — many of them emphasize his kindness and generosity. After his death on December 6, a tradition of gift giving was begun in his honor.

St. Nicholas Day is still observed on December 6 in many countries, but in others, America included, the practices associated with the day were combined with Christmas. It seemed natural to many Christians that a holiday celebrating giving would merge with the birth of Christ, the greatest gift ever given to the world. However, the merger happened to the dismay of many Christian leaders who thought that St. Nicholas started to draw too much attention away from Christ. In Germany, parents were encouraged to teach their children that the Christ Child was the gift-giver. The name Kriss Kringle is the English form of the German name for “Christ Child.” Ironically, in America the name Kriss Kringle came to be used synonymously with St. Nicholas, St. Nick, Santa Claus and even the English name Father Christmas.

In Middle Age art, St. Nicholas was typically depicted as a tall, thin, bearded cleric. So how did he evolve into the Santa that we know today in America? Santa’s white beard and red suit are actually quite similar to the bishop’s vestments worn by the Dutch Sinterklaas. But the “chubby and plump” appearance of America’s Santa Claus is generally traced to the 19th century poem “’Twas The Night Before Christmas” – an attempt to create a more friendly image of Santa and assure children that they had (in the words of the poem) “nothing to dread.”

Though the modern Santa Claus has devolved into a secularized figure surrounded by fantasy, his image can serve to help us remember the real St. Nicholas, a man who devoted his life to serving God and inspiring others to do the same. The purpose of all saints (all Christians) is to bring glory to God, not to detract from him.

At Christmas, we celebrate that God himself came in bodily form, in real flesh and blood, to earth. However, after he ascended to heaven and his physical presence was no longer on earth, Jesus entrusted believers to be his “body” (1 Corinthians 12:27). By all accounts, St. Nicholas lived a life that helped others to see the reality of Christ. How can we follow his example and help others to see Christ in us (in real flesh and blood) this Christmas?

Though the gospels of Matthew and Luke both give an account of Christ’s birth, neither one provides a date for this great event. Though it may sound strange to our modern minds, it is likely that early Christians did not place any particular value on birthdays.

It was not until the third century that various pockets of Christians began to show interest in the date of Christ’s birth, and it would take another century for the Church to begin celebrating it with some uniformity.

In regard to the chronology of Christ’s life, Early Church leaders were primarily concerned with determining the date of his death in order to establish the celebration of his resurrection (Easter). Since the Bible places Christ’s death at the time of the Jewish Passover, the dating should have been easy. However, reconciling the Jewish lunar calendar (which has 12 months of 30 days each and adds an extra “month” every third year) with Greek and Roman calendars proved to be difficult.

After much debate, the Eastern Church (which was using a Greek calendar) settled on April 6th, and the Western Church (which was using a Roman calendar) settled on March 25th as the date of Christ’s death. As we know, with time, the Western date prevailed and helped to determine the Sunday on which to celebrate Easter.

Interestingly, according to the Roman calendar, March 25th was also the spring Equinox, a day that symbolized the “rebirth of the earth” and that some Christians believed marked the first day of creation. Believers saw significance in the symbolism of Christ’s death on the anniversary of creation, since it was Christ’s redemptive death that allowed creation to be made new.

By the third century, it appears that some Christians had started celebrating Christ’s birth, as well as his death, on March 25th, because in a book called On Computing the Date of Easter, the author makes a case against this day as Christ’s birthday.

So why were Christians celebrating Christ’s birth and death on the same day? Likely, an ancient Jewish tradition of “integral age” or “whole year theory” influenced this practice. It is a belief that the life of a Jewish prophet began and ended on the same day. A third century Christian, Sextus Julius Africanus, added an interesting component to this theory. He argued that Christ’s life began not at birth but at conception. His case proves to be of particular relevance, because if Christ was conceived on March 25th, he would have been born 9 months later on December 25th, the date on which our discussion is focused.

Interestingly, the Church later recognized March 25th as the Annunciation (the date that Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the birth of Christ and also believed to be the moment of conception (notice the pro-life implications) and December 25th as the birthday of Christ. Most Christians assume that the Annunciation was determined by taking the date of Christmas and counting back nine months. On the contrary, it was probably the reverse.

Though early Christian leaders made an effort to date Christ’s birth with thoughtful consideration, bear in mind that Jesus was born in a period when time was referred to in terms of the “reign of so-and-so” and when both nature and symbolism played a role in dating significant events. St. Jerome (340-420 AD), an early church scholar, appealed to this symbolism to defend December 25 as the date of the Nativity: “Even nature is in agreement with our claim, for the whole world itself bears witness to our statement. Up to this day, darkness increases; from this day on, it decreases; light increases, darkness decreases.”¹

If the dating of Christmas was influenced at all by pagan celebrations, the most likely candidate was a holiday established in 274 AD by the Roman Emperor Aurelian (around 214-275 AD) called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, “The Birth of the Unconquered Sun,” on December 25. However, it is equally possible that Aurelian was attempting to co-opt a date that already had significance for believers. According to history professor William Tighe, “The date had no religious significance in the Roman pagan festal calendar before Aurelian’s time, nor did the sun play a prominent role in Rome before him.”²

 By the time of Aurelian’s reign, it appears that the god Mithras (originally a Persian deity who was said to be either the son of the sun or the companion of the sun) was earning popularity among traveling Roman soldiers. Aurelian decided to seize on an opportunity to bring a monotheistic cult to the Roman Empire, and it is likely that his motivation was to compete with Christianity – a growing monotheistic religion that he saw as a threat to the empire.³

The first clear record of Christ’s birth on December 25 was not until 336 AD, but it is possible that the church had accepted the date long before and that it was already common knowledge. Regardless, even if the dating of Christ’s birth was owed in part to the pagan holiday, “The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun,” the influence was probably only secondary. It appears that the primary goal of the Church was to determine an appropriate date — one that Christians expected to be rich in symbolism. If this date, December 25, also happened to give the Church a sacred feast with which to counter pagan celebrations, then it was arguably the best possible choice for the day on which to honor Christ’s birth.

¹ Witvliet, John D. and Vroege, David. Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel, Ancient Sermons and Hymns for Contemporary Christian Inspiration. Sermon by St. Jerome, Baker Books, 2004, p. 26.

² Tighe, William. Calculating Christmas. Touchstone Journal, December 2003 issue.

³ Kelly, Joseph. The Origins of Christmas. Liturgical Press, 2004, p. 63.

The above information is drawn from our featured Christmas book.