I think it is useful to find secular touchstones and expand on them for purposes of explaining the real meaning of Christmas.
The Christmas tree, for example. The tree itself might not seem to have any connection to the biblical story, but the star or angel at the top of the tree does have a connection. A star guided the magi to the Christ child. An angel gave announcements to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds at various places in the story.
Even in the most secular of settings a Christmas tree with a star or angel on top lets in a little of the biblical story and can be a useful starting point for conversations.
And what about Santa Claus? Can he be a connection or lead-in to talking about the real meaning of Christmas?
I think he can, but we have to know our church history.
It’s an understatement to say that Santa Claus has become a cultural phenomenon. It’s hard to think of any figure that has caught on so quickly and universally.
Some view Santa as a threat or a distraction to the true meaning of Christmas. I am not sure about that. I don’t see a competition between Santa (and the whole package of chimney, bag of toys, reindeer, sled, etc.) and the biblical story. I’ve never heard of anyone saying ‘I don’t choose baby Jesus and the manger and the shepherds; I’ll just take Santa instead’. The two beliefs are not on the same plane.
I’d like to propose another way to look at Santa. Rather than as a competitor to the truth of Christmas, we can see him as an inroad to talk about the truth (kind of like the star or angel on top of the Christmas tree).
We can look at the real Saint Nicholas (whose name is the root of the name Santa Claus).
The real, historical St. Nicholas lived about 1,700 years ago and was a bishop in what we now know as modern day Turkey. His parents died when he was young. He lived with an uncle who was a priest.
He was rich and generous and compassionate. There is a story about a man who lost all his money. He had three daughters who wanted to be married, but they had no money. Nicholas heard about it and secretly threw a bag of gold through a window into their house. The money was used for food and to pay the dowry for the first daughter’s marriage. The next night Nicholas did the same–secretly throwing in another bag of gold. The next night the father, wanting to find out the source of the lifesaving gifts, caught him.
Nicholas went on to be generous in other ways, especially to children.
I mentioned that Nicholas was a bishop. He attended the first ecumenical church council (in Nicea in the year 325) and argued vigorously against heretics. He defended orthodox belief about Jesus, particularly Jesus’ divinity.
The real Saint Nicholas was a vigorous contender for true Christian faith.
How did he become the basis for the legend of Santa Claus?
St. Nicholas became popular in the church and in culture. Many churches were named for him. In Holland, there was a legend that Saint Nicholas (or Sinterclaus as they called him) would put candy in the children’s shoes. The Holland legend came to America, and there were modifications, including a slight change of the name: Sinterclaus became Santa Claus.
In America, the Santa Claus legend was greatly expanded by the publication of a poem called A Visit from St. Nicholas (later known as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’). It was written by Clement Clarke Moore, published in a Troy, New York newspaper on Dec. 23, 1823. From this poem we get the chimney, toys, stockings, sled, and reindeer.
The whole thing exploded into massive cultural acceptance.
And, true, it’s far afield from the Christmas story.
But we can still mine some connections out of it. I say, let’s use the Santa Claus cultural phenomena as a starting point to talk about the real Saint Nicholas, someone to strove to honor Christ. And from there we can talk about Christ, his coming into the world as a baby and all that that means. We can talk about how that is better than any glitter, lights, sentimental feelings or presents under the tree.
2 Corinthians 9:13, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
The true story of Christmas is better in every way that the secular Christmas. The gift is better, the joy is better–“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests,” (Luke 2:14). Maybe Santa can be a starting point to get to that.
Have a Merry Christmas!