Food For Thought: St. Nicholas vs Santa Claus

How do you do.

  It's that time of year when we prepare for Christmas. As a Catholic, my celebration of Christmas is preceded by Advent, which is where we have the wreath with candles lit each Sunday. Even though Advent is seen as a fasting period, something like Lent, there is still sights and sounds of Christmas involved in the season. One can still do Advent and hang up the decorations, listen to music on the radio, and buy presents for friends and loved ones. Just remember that Christmas begins at midnight of December 25, not December 1. So, in the meantime, an average Catholic will see the celebrations of Christmas in commercialized format, which includes the appearance of Santa. 

  According to background information, Santa Claus is suppose to be based on St. Nicholas, an actual saint who lived long ago. Yet, there are plenty of things that separate the two. I am sure you may have heard of this before but I am going to present the real Saint Nick vs the "big fat man in a long white beard" who is "comin' to town" in a flying sleigh towed by reindeer. Here goes:

  Santa Claus lives in the North Pole. Saint Nicholas, was actually from the Mediterranean. Despite the Germanic looks we see in his face, the actual Saint Nick was Greek, born in what is now Turkey (Turkey did not exist then so he wasn't Turkish. If anything, he would have been Asian, since Asia Minor was originally called Asia) and he was bishop of Myra, today is called Demre. In his lifetime, Nicholas of Myra wasn't called a saint, that happened after his death (sorry, kids). Saint Nicholas was known to the Greeks as "Lord of the Seas" so it is no surprise that he is patron saint of the Greek Navy. Santa Claus, on the other hand, is Northern European in appearance. He uses the Spanish word for Saint (in the feminine form) and the common variant of Nicholas in Eastern Europe, Claus. Of course, the name came not from Spain or Poland, or even Germany, but from Holland where he was named Sinterklaas. Other variants include Father Christmas in England and Pere Noel in France. They are depicted as bishops in robes with mitres and holding staffs, basically in connection to St. Nicholas. However, there doesn't seem to be an equivalent of Santa in the Middle Ages. That is because most people believed the gift giver was Saint Nicholas in spirit, though some places replace him with Christkind (Germany and Austria). In some parts of Europe, they don't have dropping in on Christmas or Christmas Eve. Instead, he visits on St. Nicholas Day, which is December 6.

  We sometimes call Santa Claus, Kris Kringle. This naming is Germanic in origin, on par with Christopher which includes Christ as a key word. So far, Saint Nicholas wasn't given such names, though he was titled Nikolaos ho Thaumaturgos, or Nicholas the Wonderworker. 

  Thanks in part by the famous poem, we have an image of Santa as we see him: "He had a round face and a little round belly / that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly" ("The Night Before Christmas", Moore). Santa is portrayed as fat, with a white beard, and with rosy cheeks and a cherry nose, in a red winter suit and black boots, plus a red cap on head.  The image presented was used by Victorian era capitalism and, thanks to Coca-Cola, is now the icon of Santa. This is different from the old world Santa who is average built and wearing the robes of a bishop with a mitre on top, and his variants are seen in green or white. We only know what St. Nicholas would have looked like through icons. He is thinner than Santa and is many shades darker in skin (either olive or brown skinned). The red robes are not worn, however, nor the suit and boots (former wasn't meant for the warmer climate and the boots weren't invented yet). St. Nicholas is depicted with a white beard, occasionally, but not in the same fashion as Santa. The icons are not historically accurate either, since he is wearing robes from the time period of the painters, yet the painting of him sparing the innocents is close. Recently, Dr. Caroline Wilkinson of the University of Manchester did a facial reconstruction of St. Nicholas and it came out this way. It is even said the man was no taller than five feet in height. 

   St. Nicholas did give gifts. He was described as a pious man who gave gifts to those badly in need in the time (given it was around the time of the Crisis of the Third Century). Most of the knowledge of this is known in legends, unfortunately. One of these was that during a famine, a butcher murdered his children and the sainted bishop saw this and prayed for their resurrection. So far, this legend doesn't appear to have been known prior to the 11th Century. Another is that a man had three daughters but no dowry for them. This meant they could not marry and would have to become prostitutes to live. Either because the man was too proud to accept charity (and may have confessed that to his confessor a few times) or the Saint was too modest to do this in daylight (it would have been seen as a proposal of marriage at the time -- something that would have gotten him deposed as bishop), the result was the unexpected gift of a dowry placed in three purses, each given to the daughter, that were put in the house during the night. This last is a basis for Santa's visits. Another was that when a famine hit in 311, St. Nicholas got a group of sailors to gather wheat from ships and feed the hungry while also keeping quota the emperor had settled. This action witnessed a miracle where not a single ounce of wheat was subtracted yet there was enough given to feed the people for two years. They could even use the wheat to plant more grain. Historians, such as Dr. Adam English, consider the last two to have historic basis while the butcher legend to be folklore. One of the variants of the poor man and his daughters legend has the Saint place the dowry into stockings, which explains how goodies get put in them by Santa Claus. One thing that is not legend is that he answered the call for the Council of Nicaea in 325, where he took part in shaping the Christian faith. A staunch anti-Arian, Saint Nicholas even signed the Nicene Creed. 

   Santa Claus maintains the gift giving, however it is now focused on treats and toys. Some critics tend to consider Santa's mission as something of the reward and punishment system which many consider barbaric (for reasons rarely explained). If you wonder why the song warns children to "be good for goodness sake" and that Santa's "gonna find out who's naughty or nice", that is because the old school Santa Claus variants did not simply give presents. Santa's visits stem from Germanic beliefs of a visitations of a holy man who drives away a demon on each Yule who would otherwise terrorize children. Through the Christianization of the region, this holy man became identified as St. Nicholas while the demons was named Krampus, and sometimes people had the Devil himself in that place. The Saint would capture the demon, put him in shackles, and force him to pay for his evil deeds by leaving gifts behind. Since you don't expect demons to do acts of good, most legends have him chose to return to Hell. Eventually, they had him reform and became a recruiter of sprites to serve the saint in his journeys. When the Dutch renamed him Sinterklaas, they replaced Krampus with a black servant they named Black Peter. Black Peter, or Zwarte Piet, is said to beat naughty children when they visit while nice children got present from the Saint in their shoes. Much of this has origins not in St. Nicholas but in Norse mythology, where the god Odin would visit each year and travel down chimneys. The tradition can be found in Santa's visits where the stockings are used for the treats and toys while the reindeer have replaced the horse Odin rides on. Today's Santa doesn't have a demon shackled now, nor does he leave rods to bad children (I could be wrong, but the Industrial Revolution seems to have introduced the lump of coal into the mix). Elves now assist Santa, who was even depicted as an elf, in making toys while the sleigh is still pulled by deer, yet is given the ability to fly. Santa has even been made more human with the introduction of Mrs. Claus.

   I have heard of some people compare Santa Claus to God, even calling God as another "Santa Claus". While there is no doubt that the real St. Nicholas was mortal and lacked the ability to do certain tricks that Santa does, Santa Claus is, during Christmas Season, only, considered to be omnipresent and immortal. The only explanation of this is "magic". It doesn't hurt to notice the white bearded man image that is often used to portray God as well. It is also noteworthy how we see Santa everywhere in Christmas more so than the real star of Christmas: Jesus Christ. Due to the secularization of our culture over the past one and a half centuries, the very meaning of Christmas is subverted by commercialism and substitution; having a jolly fat man in a red suit who perpetuates the reward and punishment system, to use the critics' term, in place of the birth of the one who gave the greatest gift of all: to free us of sin, break the power of death, and renew us in the presence of God. That sort of gift is something that Santa can never bring out of his big bag and stuff into your stocking. St. Nicholas understood that for he reportedly told the man who daughters need dowries to not thank him but Him whom he served. Santa doesn't seem to be saying the same thing, which can explain why the harsh critics call Santa Claus as God for children.

   Martin Luther once wanted St. Nicholas Day halted, and he got it done in parts of Germany, because he deemed the veneration of saints to be a distraction from God. To many Christians, the person of Santa Claus embodies what he was talking about. Our views of Christmas has gone to focusing on the secular and commercial aspects of the holiday instead of the religious, thus one will find one image or decoration of Jesus for every three or four Santas (of course, there is an irony lately that many view Santa as a religious entity and are now seeking to ban him from public). I do not doubt that Saint Nicholas would have disliked the scene, even willing to make sermons of idolatry of it if he were in a church. Saint Nicholas may have known that people knew his actions but he was said to be modest and would not want to be a merchandise item.

   In the end, while many believe Santa Claus to be a real person, even if he is taking the spotlight away from Jesus on each Christmas, there are certain Christian aspects on the man. This is a man who risks his life to travel the globe in a flying sleigh with almost no means of protection, visiting every house to drop off presents, and tasting milk and cookies, all in less than twenty-four hours. While doing this action, he gives away gifts without any asking for anything in return. But even if you don't believe in Santa being a real person, think of him as an entity, who comes in form of action.
   Christmas is not something bought or sold; it was actually meant to be shared and it is shared when we give something special to people. To see the Christmas spirit comes when a complete stranger is given a warm welcome or a heart broken person is given love, a struggling family that is given food, clothes, and shelter. These things are common place in Christianity. As Christians, we are tasked with giving food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, and much more, as evidenced in Matthew 25: 35-40. To those who mention of doing good for personal gain, ie to go to Heaven or escape Hell, there is no part in the Bible that commands Christians to do so (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Santa comes in to give children an example to follow. People will not know how to give when born and will instead need to be taught it. If they didn't have a Santa Claus, then they may not have much to grow on in giving to others. Some will claim that keeping up the use of Santa Claus will eventually scar children for when they find out they are being duped, almost using the wording of Maureen O'Hara's character in The Miracle on 34th Street. Yes, a little white lie is still a lie. Yet, if one doesn't see the joy that comes with giving and learning how simply giving away without thinking of a reward in return will do, then the person might not be able to get the true meaning of Christmas. In the end, it's not about rather or not Santa Claus exists; it's really about how God was willing to give His only begotten son to redeem the world and thus we can imitate this action, in a different fashion, even if one does not believe, and feel the warmth of love in the cold winter's chill. If there is one thing Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus would have agreed on, it would be this.