So what do we do about Santa Claus?

It’s a question I am often asked by the moms whom I mentor. Here are some thoughts I’d like to share on the subject of Santa Claus:

Unless you stay in your home for the month of December, you cannot avoid seeing Santa or pictures of Santa when you are out and about. Santa represents the secular celebration of the Christmas holiday, but he has Christian roots that can be told in a story children will love.

There are many legends about St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra (modern-day Turkey), who lived circa 280-343 a.d. One story tells how he helped three poor sisters whose father did not have money to pay their dowries. Legend has it that St. Nicholas secretly went to their house at night and dropped a bag of money inside the house.

St. Nicholas also gave gifts to poor children. He was a deeply religious man who loved God. He believed that Jesus was the Son of God who came into this world to save us from sin. He gave gifts to others to remind them of the gift of God’s Son.

The Dutch celebrated the feast day of St. Nicholas on December 6, the day St. Nicholas was believed to have died. Children would put out their shoes on the eve of the feast day, and in the morning they would discover the gifts that St. Nicholas had left for them. Dutch immigrants brought St. Nicholas (known to them as Sinter Klaas) to America in the 1700s.

In America, St. Nicholas (or Sinter Klaas) eventually became Santa Claus. Instead of celebrating on December 6, the gift-giving tradition became part of the Christmas holiday. And instead of leaving shoes out, stockings were hung on fireplace mantels.

Children love to hear stories. So tell them the story of a generous man named St. Nicholas who gave gifts because he loved God. Tell them why we hang Christmas stockings on the fireplace mantel. Tell them that Saint Nickolas just wanted a way to thank God for Jesus, the gift of God’s Son. That’s what Christmas is all about.

Here’s to celebrating the greatest gift of all!

Crystal Bowman