Is Santa Claus a Christian?

James Pope | 21:05, 3rd December 2012

"His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!"

The image of jolly old St. Nicholas (AKA Santa Claus) as described in Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem will take a prominent place in the UK’s festive celebrations again this year.  Decorations of him will be everywhere and you may even get to visit him at a supermarket or garden centre if you’re lucky!  But Moore’s representation of Saint Nicholas is only a relatively recent addition.

The real Nicholas was born in the third century on what is now the south coast of Turkey.  He grew up following Jesus and dedicated his life to serving God; he even spent time in prison for being a Christian.  He was known for his generosity and love for children.

One of the great stories that showed Nicholas' charitable nature tells of a poor man with three daughters.  The man was struggling to feed his family and could not pay the dowry needed for his daughters to marry.  On three separate nights Nicholas was said to have put money into their house enough to feed the family and for the daughters to get married.  He threw the money into the house so his identity would not be revealed.  The next morning it was found in the girls' stockings which were drying on the fire, which is where we get our tradition of hanging stockings on Christmas Eve.

It's a shame as Christmas approaches that we don't hear more about the St. Nicholas story.  It seems the modern day myth of Santa and his magical elves have taken the place of a great story from history.  Sadly we can do the same with the real Christmas story found in the Bible.

The 'fairytale-isation' (I think I just made up a word!) of the nativity story creates images of a shiny stable, fluffy animals, sweet smelling shepherds, lavish kings, painless labour and a cute baby who never cried.  As well as being quite inaccurate, this version of the nativity can hide from us the real story of Christmas.  The story of a loving, all powerful God, who chose to live amongst us. The story of one who left all the riches of heaven to be born as a helpless baby, to poor parents in a filthy shed full of smelly animals.  The story of a king whose birth was announced by angels but not to royalty or governments but to a bunch of working class men doing their every-day jobs.  The story of the baby who would grow up in a sinful world and yet remain sin-less.  The story of the baby born to be saviour of the world.

The reality of the true Christmas story is so much more amazing than many nativity plays would have you believe.  They say that true stories are the best - so why not join us at Highfields over the Christmas period and hear a few more?

James will be leading a special family service, suitable for children and grown-ups, at Highfields Church Cathays on Sunday 23rd December at 10.30. He would be delighted if you and your family can join us. Children are invited to dress up as wise men, angels or shepherds for the event!