Pastor's Message
December 2022
Is Santa Claus Christian?
With the danger of offending some, this is a question that plagued me as a grew up. Within the Christian Church, we know that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” but Santa Claus has long been associated with Christmas. Why? What’s the connection?
I remember very early in my ministry, a brother pastor commented on his child’s school’s attempt to be diversified in December. The classroom had a menorah for the Jewish Hanukkah, a different candelabra for the African-American celebration of Kwanzaa, and Santa Claus for Christian Christmas. The pastor objected, protesting that the true Christian symbol for Christmas was a manger scene and not Santa Claus. If anything, Santa Claus represented the pagan celebration of Christmas. Or, does it?
It was about a decade ago that Phil Vischer of Veggie Tales fame set out to explain to children and adults the alike the true story behind Santa Claus. Although his The Story of St. Nicholas takes some liberties, it does a fun job of telling the story for little kids. For those of you who don’t know the story, allow me to share.
It is believed that Nicholas, a Greek Christian from Patara — a small village along the Mediterranean Sea in modern Turkey — was born somewhere around 270 or 280 A.D. into a wealthy family. He inherited that wealth after his parents’ early death due to an epidemic.
He became a merchant, sailing the Mediterranean. During this time, he embraced his Christian faith, lived Christ’s commands, and became known for his generosity in helping the poor, particularly giving gifts to children, often anonymously. He was later made a Bishop of Myra, not too far from where he grew up. He was later claimed as a patron saint to archers, sailors, children, and pawnbrokers. In the Middle Ages, December 6th became known as St. Nicholas Day, and children were given gifts in his honor.
So, how does St. Nicholas become Santa Claus and St. Nicholas Day become confused with Christmas?
St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American culture through the Dutch in the late 18th century in New York. In Dutch, St. Nicholas was pronounced Sinter Klaas. It’s not a far jump from Sinter Klaus to Santa Claus. And, since gifts were already being exchanged for Christmas, and since St. Nicholas Day (December 6) and Christmas (December 25) are so close together, the two church festivals were eventually merged into one.
You still might be wondering to yourself, so how did our modern view of Santa get so far removed from its origins? Time does that. You can also thank Coca Cola. The modern depiction of Santa Claus as an old man of white flowing beard and portly figure in a red outfit with white trim was part of their advertising campaign of 1931. Since then, the legend has taken on a life of its own. The North Pole, reindeer, elves, chimneys, and stockings were all added to the lore. (Although chimneys and stockings may have had their roots in the original story of Nicholas helping the poor anonymously.) Sadly, modern depictions of Santa make little or no connection to Christ. For that, Nicholas would be sad.
So, what should we do with Santa Claus today? I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I will give some food for thought. It is good for kids to know the real story behind Santa Claus. It is good to connect the giving of gifts to the Christian love we have for others as expressed by Nicholas. It is even better to connect the giving of gifts to God’s perfect gift of the Christchild. It is always best to keep the focus of Christmas on God’s perfect gift of his Son, our Savior, given in Bethlehem so many years ago, whether with Santa or not.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch
Is Santa Claus Christian?
With the danger of offending some, this is a question that plagued me as a grew up. Within the Christian Church, we know that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” but Santa Claus has long been associated with Christmas. Why? What’s the connection?
I remember very early in my ministry, a brother pastor commented on his child’s school’s attempt to be diversified in December. The classroom had a menorah for the Jewish Hanukkah, a different candelabra for the African-American celebration of Kwanzaa, and Santa Claus for Christian Christmas. The pastor objected, protesting that the true Christian symbol for Christmas was a manger scene and not Santa Claus. If anything, Santa Claus represented the pagan celebration of Christmas. Or, does it?
It was about a decade ago that Phil Vischer of Veggie Tales fame set out to explain to children and adults the alike the true story behind Santa Claus. Although his The Story of St. Nicholas takes some liberties, it does a fun job of telling the story for little kids. For those of you who don’t know the story, allow me to share.
It is believed that Nicholas, a Greek Christian from Patara — a small village along the Mediterranean Sea in modern Turkey — was born somewhere around 270 or 280 A.D. into a wealthy family. He inherited that wealth after his parents’ early death due to an epidemic.
He became a merchant, sailing the Mediterranean. During this time, he embraced his Christian faith, lived Christ’s commands, and became known for his generosity in helping the poor, particularly giving gifts to children, often anonymously. He was later made a Bishop of Myra, not too far from where he grew up. He was later claimed as a patron saint to archers, sailors, children, and pawnbrokers. In the Middle Ages, December 6th became known as St. Nicholas Day, and children were given gifts in his honor.
So, how does St. Nicholas become Santa Claus and St. Nicholas Day become confused with Christmas?
St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American culture through the Dutch in the late 18th century in New York. In Dutch, St. Nicholas was pronounced Sinter Klaas. It’s not a far jump from Sinter Klaus to Santa Claus. And, since gifts were already being exchanged for Christmas, and since St. Nicholas Day (December 6) and Christmas (December 25) are so close together, the two church festivals were eventually merged into one.
You still might be wondering to yourself, so how did our modern view of Santa get so far removed from its origins? Time does that. You can also thank Coca Cola. The modern depiction of Santa Claus as an old man of white flowing beard and portly figure in a red outfit with white trim was part of their advertising campaign of 1931. Since then, the legend has taken on a life of its own. The North Pole, reindeer, elves, chimneys, and stockings were all added to the lore. (Although chimneys and stockings may have had their roots in the original story of Nicholas helping the poor anonymously.) Sadly, modern depictions of Santa make little or no connection to Christ. For that, Nicholas would be sad.
So, what should we do with Santa Claus today? I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I will give some food for thought. It is good for kids to know the real story behind Santa Claus. It is good to connect the giving of gifts to the Christian love we have for others as expressed by Nicholas. It is even better to connect the giving of gifts to God’s perfect gift of the Christchild. It is always best to keep the focus of Christmas on God’s perfect gift of his Son, our Savior, given in Bethlehem so many years ago, whether with Santa or not.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch