A Bone to Pick
I have a bone to pick with a chubby man in a red suit. How did he weasel in on the holiday designated to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Luke 1:30 – 33 “But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with Child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.””
The creator of the universe, our God in trinity, took the form of a human and came to earth to dwell. That deserves a celebration. So how does Santa Claus fit into all of this?
You may be thinking I’m just a little grumpy and that’s why I am questioning Santa Claus, but my struggle with Santa Claus has existed for years. I learned he didn’t bring presents one Christmas Eve when I was six. I heard some noise in the living room, so I tip toed out and found my father putting together something for Christmas in the morning. It was then I knew that my parents, not some guy in a red suit, were responsible for my Christmas presents. Then I knew why the girl across the street got the easy bake oven and I didn’t. There were fewer children in her family, so I am sure they could afford it easier.
I have lots of brothers and sisters, but I have one sister that is eleven years younger. When I was about sixteen, I tried to tell my five year old sister that Santa Claus was a fairy tale. Jesus was real, but Santa was not. She flat out didn’t believe me. In a way, she was partially right.
Somewhere in time, approximately 280 AD, Saint Nicholas was born. He is the person that the legend of Santa Claus came from, for the most part. I grew up with Santa Claus, as I believe most of us did. Saint Nicholas was a real person. He was raised by devoted Christian parents, but they died in an epidemic while he was a teenager. This did not seem to rattle his faith. He was ordained into the priesthood at the age of 19. He led a ministry that was noted for its love and generosity. He was imprisoned for his faith, but when Constantine came to power, he was finally free to return to his coastal village in Turkey and continue to minister to his people.
There are many stories about his life. In one story, there were three girls too poor to have the dowry necessary to get married. The remaining option for them was to go into slavery. He threw bags of coins, through the window, on three separate occasions, to give each girl a dowry. There were other stories focused on his generosity and caring towards children. He was a beloved person in his community. He really demonstrated God’s love by loving others.
He died on December 6th, 343. His life was commemorated on that day with the exchange of gifts, one to another. This was done to celebrate the generosity Nicholas showed during his life. After Nicholas’s death, the tradition of Saint Nicholas day spread. The first country to adopt the tradition was Russia.
When they took the remains of Nicholas and moved them to Italy, the tradition spread. Before too long, Saint Nicholas day spread to most of Europe.
So how did Saint Nicholas and the birth of the Christ become intertwined, well the reformation has something to do with it. One of the changes in the reformation is that people no longer celebrated saints, so that eliminated Saint Nicholas’s day. The reformers wanted to emphasize the birth of Christ. Christmas started on Christmas Eve and it was devoted to story of the Christ Child. The exchange of gifts happen around January 6th, which was the day celebrated as the day the wise man appeared with gifts for the Christ child.
Despite the reformation, the legend of Saint Nicholas was not easily dismissed. Every culture added some element to his persona. An American cartoonist created the existing chubby man in a red suit we all know and love. I think if Nicholas was alive today he would be shocked by all the fuss over a simple priest in a small village.
I don’t think the celebration of Santa should supersede the celebration of the Christ child, but I do think we can adopt some of what Nicholas stood for. He spent his whole life and his parent’s fortune giving to others as a form of service to his Lord and Savior. Perhaps that would be something we add to or increase as part of our Christmas celebration.
The following quote is from the Veggie Tale “Saint Nicholas”. “I can love because God loves me, I can give because God gave.”
If that is our focus, to give and love others, than this will be a good holiday regardless of our circumstances.
This Video features Matthew West, Amy Grant, Operation Christmas Child and Veggie Tales, what could be better than that.
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