What if I were to tell you that the Christmas Hero we force our children to have their pictures taken with has a checked past?Like a peak behind the curtain at the Terrible Wizard of Oz, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Santa Claus. A little background check turned up some interesting facts:
1) Orphaned at 9, Nicholas was born in Turkey but given a Greek name meaning "victory of the people"
2)May have been spent most of his youth on fishing boats rowdy sailors
3) Became a preacher
4) Served first term in prison for offend the country's ruler with his preaching.
5) Served second term for slugging a fellow preacher during a debate
6) Never wed (which would cast doubt on his marriagability in 21st Century
society.)So how did this single, Turkish, ex-con preacher, get to be the North Pole Toy Company CEO and ad-spokesman for Coca-Cola and Hallmark Cards?
Perhaps you think I'm attempting to give YOUR Holiday hero a bad wrap. Not really. But would you have kept reading had I not at least raised a question or two?
I struggle with two opposing views of about this Icon of Christmas. First, there are those who want to WORSHIP Santa Claus . . . Allowing him to be the excuse for their children's unbridled greed at Christmas. These same parents then wonder why their off-spring don't "understand what Christmas is all about."
Au-contre' The brats understand all too well!
But then there are those who want to banish Santa, his spirit of giving and all, as a SECULAR Pawn of the Season. I consider their well-intentioned, at times sanctimonious, if not ill-informed knee-jerk.
They are like the "Don't take Christ-Out-Of-Christmas" sermons that come from pulpit and Blogs of America. I shake my head for they betrays the ignorance (lack of knowledge or education) of the writer or speaker. The letter X is the first letter of the word Xristro, the Greek word for Christ. Xmas, then, does not eradicate the name of Christ from Christmas. It is a legitimate term in the Greek Orthodox church.
Nicolas was named Bishop of Myra in the earthly fourth century by the Catholic church, a post he held until his death on December 6 343.
He was best known for the kindness he showed to a poor neighbor who was unable to support his three daughters or provide the customary dowry so they could attract husbands. Nicholas slipped up to the house by night and dropped a handful of gold coins through the window so the eldest daughter could afford to get married. He repeated this act on two other nights for the other two daughters.
The gift grew from a handful of coins to bags of coins. Instead of dropping them through the window, he dropped them down the chimney. And rather than land on the floor, the bags of coins landed in the girls stockings which were hanging on the hearth to dry.
People then began to suspect that he was behind a large number of other anonymous gifts to the poor, using the inheritance from his wealthy parents. After he died, people in the region continued to give to the poor anonymously, and such gifts were still often attributed to St. Nicholas.
For this reason, I am reluctant to throw out the "spirit of Saint Nicholas" with the commercial mold of holiday sales-laky we've forced Saint Nicholas into. It's as fake as the synthetic white whiskers strapped under his nose.As Bishop of Myra, he wore the traditional ecclesiastical robes and mitered hat. He is known to have been slim, with a dark beard and a serious personality.
By 1300 he was wearing a white beard. But the 1800's he was depicted with a rotund belly and an ever-present basket of food over his arm. Soon came the black boots, a red-cape, and a cheery stocking on his head. In the late nineteenth century his basket of food became a sack of toys. In 1866 he was small and gnomish but by 1930 he was a robust six-footer with rosy cheeks and a Coca-Cola.
Santa reflects the desires of people all over the world.
With the centuries he had become the composite of what we want.
A friend who cares enough to travel a long way against all odd to bring good gets
to good people.
A sage who, though aware of each act, has a way of rewarding the good and overlooking the bad.
A friend of children who never gets sick and never grows old.
A father who lets you sit on his lap ad share your deepest desires.
Santa. The culmination of what we need in a hero. The personification of our passions. The expression of our yearnings. The fulfillment of our desires."And The Angels Were Silent" Max Lucado
While Santa makes a great Christmas hero, ultimately even the original Saint Nickolas can't provide what we really need. When December's requests become February's payments, Santa's left the mall. . . He only comes once a year.
And when Santa comes, he sometimes gives much, he doesn’t take away much. He doesn't take away the grave, mistakes, the anxiety of demands, or healing hurts.
Again Max Lucado says it best in "And The Angels Were Silent"
We create heroes from castles and crusades,…sanctuaries and stories,…politics
and airplanes. God chooses a virgin to bear himself…He dons a scalp and toes and
two eyes…he burps and sneezes and gets bit by mosquitoes.
Here was a hero who could touch blind beggars and their darkened eye gulped down the light. At his command, twisted, useless limbs became whole. At his embrace, desperate lives filled with hope.
His birthplace was among the smells of livestock. His death at the hands of arrogant politicians, religious bigots, sweat-soaked solders, and ambivalent admirers.
Only God could create a plan like this. Only God could create a hero like this.
So, when it comes to goodies and candy, cherub cheeks and red noses, go to the North Pole.
But when it comes to eternity, forgiveness, purpose, and truth, go to the manger. Kneel with the shepherds. Stare with the soldiers at the bloodied crosses. Finger the empty grave clothes in the vacant tomb. In between those events you will find a hero worth celebrating every season of the year.
.JPG)
