Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love Santa Claus. And I like him so much for a couple different reasons.
Santa was real! Or at least Saint Nicholas was real. He was a Turkish monk born around 280 A.D. Which was a long time ago! He inherited a fortune from his parents, but decided to give it all away. He became legend for traveling around the world helping those in need. Helping others is not a bad thing to be known for! The tradition of hanging stockings for Santa to fill came from a legend of St. Nicholas as well. Many years ago, when a woman was married, her parents would give a sum of money to the groom. This was called a dowry. If you were poor and your parents unable to afford to give a groom a dowry, there was the possibility you wouldn’t be able to get married or that you would be trapped in poverty. There was a father like this who had 3 daughters. According to legend Saint Nicholas came one night and left each woman a sock full of enough money for a decent dowry assuring they could marry. This may seem like a crazy origin story, but at the time, the dowry was a big deal that had a huge affect on woman. Giving them the money no doubt aided the family tremendously and his unconditional kindness did not go unnoticed.
Santa Claus came to the US in the 1800s with the Dutch who called him Sinter Klaas. They were also the ones who introduced the making sweet goodies for Santa and being good to get presents from him. His story quickly caught on with American families and his popularity soared.
In 1822 Clement Clarke Moore wrote a Christmas poem for his daughters entitled “An Account of a Visit from St Nicholas” in which he described the Jolly Chubby Santa we picture today. It was Thomas Nast, though, who first drew Santa Claus in a red suit and tiny sleigh. Combining these two gave us the image most recognizable as Good Saint Nick. In a very short time the white bearded rosy cheeked jolly old man became the Santa we know and love today.
St Nicholas and later Santa Claus is a man known for joyfully giving. He spends his time helping other people and loves to do so. He does not discriminate because he gives to all the children all over the world. While some parents want to use Santa as a threat to make their kids behave, that’s not what Santa truly is.
The real magic is when you grow out of the childhood wonder and discover a big mystical man doesn’t come down your chimney on Christmas Eve. Because you get to become that magic for someone else. If you are a parent this appears in the sparkle in your children’s eyes. You get to share happiness with the person behind you in the drive thru line by buying their sandwich for them. You get to sit down with a struggling friend and hold them. You get to help the mom juggling her kids and grocery bags by distracting the crying one with silly faces in the checkout line. You can give a gift to the kid who’s parents are frantically working to make ends meet and may not be able to give them a gift.
This Christmas season do something kind for someone you know. Be benevolent to a stranger. Send someone a smile.
What kind of world would we have if everyone tried to be a little bit like Santa?
Dose of Sunshine 