Jesus and St. Nicholas have two very different stories.  We have merged their separate stories into one holiday, Christmas, because of timing.   Saint Nicholas was a generous man who helped those in need.  He certainly practiced the loving kindness that Christ modeled and encouraged. He was most likely a man who believed in Christ.

Christians celebrate the birth of the Messiah at Christmas, the sending of God’s son to live amongst us. Our pastor emphasized this was not a “God siting” but a “God-dwelling”, a fully human but fully God Messiah who came to live amongst us and experienced life here on earth.

How did these two men’s stories become merged into one holiday?

Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Christ, on December 25.   Why do we celebrate on this date and how did this originate?  And why is Santa part of this celebration?  “The reason for the selection of Dec. 25 seems to have been that it is exactly nine months after March 25, the traditional date of Jesus’ crucifixion.  As Christians developed the theological idea that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same date, they set the date of his birth nine months later.” (wate.com/news).

“Around 200 C.E. Tertullian of Carthage calculationed the day of Jesus’ crucifixion was equivalent to March 25 in the Roman calendar. March 25 is nine months before December 25 and was later recognized as the Feast of the Annunciation  (Jesus’ conception).¹⁰ Thus, Jesus was believed to have been conceived and crucified on the same day of the year. Exactly nine months later, Jesus may have been born, close to December 25”  (BiblicalArchaeology.org).  According to the DavidJeremiah Blog, Christians in Medieval times believed that the angel Gabriel made his proclamation to Mary on March 25.  Thus, the “nativity” was celebrated nine months later, on December 25.

So, we have ideas of how this holy date may have been established.  How does Santa Claus come into this story?

“Santa’s” story started with a generous 4^th century bishop named Nicholas (born around A.D. 280) who lived in Myra, now modern-day Turkey.  Nicholas is believed to have used his family inheritance to help the poor, the sick, and the suffering.   Legend has it that he tossed gold through a window to keep a peasant girl from being sold into slavery.  The gold landed in a stocking drying by the fire.  Stockings by the fire! One of the best-known stories tells us that he saved three sisters from being sold into slavery by their father.  He did this by providing each one of them a dowry so that they could marry instead  (history.com).

Word of the bishop’s generosity spread, and children started hanging stockings by their fireplaces, in hopes that Nicholas would visit them.  His popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children.  After his death in 343 A.D., he was canonized (declared a saint) by the Roman Catholic Church.   December 6 became known as St. Nicholas Day, a gift-giving day throughout Christian Europe. For many Europeans, this celebration began to merge with the Christmas Holy Day.

By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe.  He became known by different names and looks, and in Holland he became known as Sinter Klaas.  When the Dutch moved into and settled into North America, his name become Americanized as Santa Claus (history.com).  These first American depictions of Santa Claus were of a slim, serious man.   This image would change with Claude Clarke Moore, an Episcopal minister.   Moore wrote a long poem titled, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” in 1822, where he described Santa as a plump and jolly man with a long, white beard.

This image of Santa was made popular by cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1881.  He drew from Moore’s poem and gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, his North Pole workshop, elves, and a wife named Mrs. Claus!  Nast’s version of Santa Claus appeared in Harper’s Magazine in 1863, and an icon was born.   Retailers used this jolly saint for promotion, and he became a fixture in U.S. department stores.  Fast forward and children all over the world today still anticipate a visit from St. Nicholas, just as they did 1700 years ago.

So again, these two men, Jesus and St. Nicholas, have two different stories.  We have merged their separate stories into one holiday, Christmas, because of timing.  BUT, Santa is literally everywhere….and Jesus is not.   Somehow Santa Claus has overtaken our celebration of Jesus, the Messiah.  There are many reasons for this, both intentional and unintentional. No matter, each of us as believers has to be quite purposeful about making JESUS the real reason for the season.

As we BOOK TIME WITH OUR KIDS, we must make it a priority to read the Story of Jesus (Luke 2: 1-20)…..more.  We must read the real Christmas story to our children. We must share the history changing event of Jesus coming to earth to dwell among us. We can tell the story, we can place a nativity on the table, we can open an advent calendar, and we can worship together on Christmas Eve.    We must be “set apart” and teach our kids that CHRISTMAS can be many things, but at its CORE, it’s ONLY and ALL ABOUT JESUS.

Thanks for reading, and please share!