December 6 is a memorable day in the Advent Season. When our children were growing up we hung stockings out and filled them with treats on St. Nicholas Day. It is St. Nicholas of course that serves as the model of Santa Claus in America, or Father Christmas in places like England, or for my Dutch friends, Sinterklass.
Some Christians struggle with including Santa Claus in their Christmas celebrations, but if we embraced who this man was, we would see how he served as an example of what celebrating Christmas is all about. St. Nicholas was an early church Bishop from a place called Myra in what is now modern day Turkey. He lived during a time of persecution and was imprisoned and persecuted for his faith. He died on Dec. 6, somewhere near 350 A.D.
Tradition has it that he was the "Children's Bishop". He cared deeply for children and there are many stories, probably most are myths, of his exploits on behalf of children. As the successive generations of the church followed the person of St. Nicholas evolved. In Germany he became Weinachstmann - Christmas Man; in France, Pere Noel took over St. Nicholas' job. He arrived each Christmas to provide for children and the poor, cakes, cookies, and candy, placing them in shoes that sat outside. In England, it was Father Christmas who had a beard and a sack of toys. When the Reformation took hold in Germany and other parts of Europe, the veneration of Saints was banned. Still St. Nicholas' day continued to be a part of the Christmas season. When new world settlers from Holland settled in New York, Sinterklass was heard by English speaking people as "Santy Claus". In 1808, Washington Irving wrote about Sinterklass in his book A History of New York, and described him as "a rotund little man in Dutch clothes, with knee length trousers and a broad brimmed hat, traveling around on a flying horse wagon dropping gifts down the chimneys of his favorites on the Eve of St. Nicholas."
While Irving made gift giving by Santa Claus a part of Christmas lore, it was a professor of theology, Clement Moore, who ultimately made Santa Claus a part of the Christmas season when in wrote A Visit From St. Nicholas, now known as "The Night Before Christmas". The story is that he was inspired by a man who drove a "hack" - a horse drawn taxi cab - who had a long white beard and a reddish nose. He wrote the story for his children and what was meant as a private poem to his children was made famous the following year when it was published in the New York paper. What the story changed was Santa Claus' visit was not tied to St. Nicholas day on Dec. 6th, but instead occurred on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24th after the children had gone to sleep. Santa came with a sleigh drawn by 8 reindeer, all of whom had names! He wrote: "down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound..." and after he
"filled all the stockings; then he turned with a jerk,
and laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
'Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
Clement Moore's poem has become part of American Christmas tradition and even today movies continue to be made (with a certain amount of stupidity) that embrace the idea of Santa. Santa has evolved, but what hasn't changed is that this character once lived as a generous, faithful Christian leader who inspired others to love and be generous. So, on this day, St. Nicholas' day, go ahead and give a gift to someone who doesn't deserve it, who doesn't know it's from you, and for the sake of Christ alone. Happy St. Nicholas Day!
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