“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” – Ephesians 4:25
As the father of five kids who are now in their teens and twenties, I can still remember the complicated conversations my wife Grace and I had about Santa when they were little. Santa is such a towering figure in our culture that you cannot ignore him, as your kids will have questions about him.
For starters, we wanted to be careful not to lie to our kids when they were little because it would break trust when they grew up. Our concern was, if we told them that Santa and Jesus were both real, performed miracles, knew our behavior, and judged us, only to one day tell them that Santa was fake, but Jesus was real, we could really confuse them. So, here’s what decided: we would tell our kids three things about Santa.
One, there was a real historical person named Saint Nicholas and his life story was combined with numerous myths from a variety of cultures to create Santa Claus. Born in the third century, Nicholas’ life started in a small village in what is now Turkey. His devout Christian parents were wealthy but tragically died when he was a boy. Nicholas used his inheritance to help the poor, especially children, by hanging socks for them filled with presents and treats. On one occasion, he helped three poor Christian sisters who were unable to pay their wedding dowry. Facing a life of prostitution, Nicholas purchased their freedom.
Nicholas was a godly Christian leader appointed as the Bishop of Myra, a port city that the apostle Paul had previously visited (Acts 27:5–6). The vital Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) that defended the deity of Jesus Christ had Nicholas in attendance defending Jesus as God. After dying on December 6, 343, Nicholas was canonized as a saint and gifts were given each year on the anniversary of his death in tribute to his generous life.
Two, over many years, various cultures added numerous myths and folklores to the story of Saint Nicholas. German pastor Martin Luther replaced Nicholas with the Christ child as the object of holiday celebration, or, in German, Christkindl. Over time, the pronunciation changed to Kris Kringle, and curiously became another name for Santa Claus.
Three, it is not a bad thing to use your imagination, create fun imaginary stories, and dress up in a costume to pretend. For example, our boys grew up dressing like superheroes and sword fighting, and our girls grew up with a lot of princess dresses they liked to wear while playing out fun roles they thought up in their creative imagination.
In summary, we tried to help our kids know the difference between the real and godly Saint Nicholas, and the other pretend stories that people made up about him.
How have you talked with your kids about Santa Claus? Take some time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance on how to share Santa with them in an honoring and truthful way.
Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. Visit https://realfaith.com/faq/ for privacy and terms info.