Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

...but he may not be who you think he is.

Monsignor Charles Pope points us today an excellent piece by Danny Hakim titled, "Poles Apart: Nicholas of Myra and Jolly Saint Nick."

Saint Nicholas of Myra is, of course, the historical basis for the jolly, fat man we know today as Santa Claus, who sneaks down chimneys and leaves presents for good girls and boys.  In exploring the historical reality of Santa Claus, Hakim notes that,

On the one hand, we have the modern Santa, a porcine, jolly man who resides at the North Pole with a woman known only as Mrs. Claus. He has domesticated a stable of nine deer, and enjoys the cheerful services of a retinue of elfin assistants. He is very, very nice to children.  

On the other hand, we have the ancient Santa. Saint Nicholas. Paintings show a thin man. He
was spare of frame, flinty of eye, pugnacious of spirit. In the Middle Ages, he was known as a
brawling saint. He had no particular sense of humor that we know of. He could be vengeful,
wrathful, an embittered ex- con. According to legend, even after death he horsewhipped
someone. Yes, he became the patron saint of children, but his was a promiscuous sainthood.
Over the years, he was also the patron saint of sailors, whores, moneylenders and thieves. No
doubt, Saint Nick was a good man. A noble man. But a hard man. How did time turn him soft?

I encourage you to read the entire article, which provides a good historical background in an humorous and clever manner.

More on Santa

Reader Melody is a mom who does not celebrate Santa Claus with her children. In a post from last year she gave her reasoning thus:

If you are a Christian parent, you know that every word that comes out of your mouth is a testimony to your child about the love and truth of Christ. You know from experience that your failures in virtue are soaked up into your little sponge children in the blink of an eye. You know how compromised your witness is by any uncharitable word, selfish behavior...and all deceitfulness. We know how much we abhor lies in our children and teach them to imitate Jesus who is the Way, the TRUTH, and the life. The game of pretending does indeed become a lie if it is intended to deliberately deceive for any extended period of time. When your little one looks trustingly up into your face and asks, "Mommy, is Santa really real?" and you say "Yes, He is", what acceptable justification is there for such a deception? It is likely that, someday, that same child will look at you and ask, "Mommy, is Jesus really real?" and you will say "Yes, He is." The child is asking for the truth and deserves purity in our responses. Our children need to know that we will not lie to them and must be able to trust our word in all things because we are their primary witness to love of Jesus Christ in their lives.

She gives further explanation that is worth reading, and also offers a few humorous reasons.

Was he right to say it? I suspect so

His Excellency the Most Reverend Fabriciano Sigampa, Archbishop of Resistencia [a fitting name for his Diocese] recently said in a homily that children should know that it is not Santa Clause who brings their gifts on Christmas:

"That's not Christmas," Archbishop Fabriciano Sigampa of the northern city of Resistencia said in mass, insisting that children should not confuse celebrating the birth of Christ "with a fat man dressed in red."

Sigampa's ire was aroused by plans for a snow covered cabin in the city's main square where a Father Christmas figure would hear children's wishes and receive donated toys to be given out to poor children.

"Surely, in the coming days there will be a deluge of advertisements after they inaugurate the house where a fat man dressed in red lives. And we should not confuse, we should not confuse Christmas with that."

He said children "should know that, in reality, the gifts come from the efforts of their parents and with the help of Jesus." [more]

Commenting on the story, Father Ray Blake added this wise thought:

Though we do not want kindergartens of howling children complaining "Father has ruined my Christmas", I think we Catholics ought to avoid implicating ourselves in deliberately deceiving children, just incase they see the Incarnation as being equally untrue.

I have heard several young people - perhaps sincerely, perhaps not - use this very example as a reason they do not accept the faith of the Church. If parents have deceived them as children about Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, it makes some sense to them that they may also have been deceived about Jesus.

Consider, for a moment, the great energy and thought given by parents to convince their children that Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy visit their homes. Now consider, for a moment, the great energy and thought given by parents to show their children the truth of Jesus Christ. Oh, wait... It isn't equal, is it? Houston, we have a problem.

Just a thought to ponder.