Devin Strong, Spirit of Peace Lutheran Church

“You ruined our Christmas by not telling us about Santa Claus!” This was the vociferous complaint of my son when he was about ten. Of course, it is every parent’s nightmare that one day our adult children will be lying on some psychiatrist’s couch explaining in detail about how mom and dad ruined their lives. To be clear, we never told our kids that the stories of Santa are fake or disparaged any of the cultural customs of Christmas.

We just didn’t emphasize them.

Instead, we told them the beautiful and true story of Saint Nicholas, the pastor and bishop who was born in 270 C.E. in Myra, Italy. Nicholas came from a wealthy family and never having children of his own, the clergyman was known for his love of children and his habit of giving gifts in secret. After his death on December 6 (still recognized as St. Nicholas Day), 343, he was canonized by the church, and many our myths of Santa Claus are built on his real-life efforts. For me, the exploits of this actual disciple of Jesus make a much richer story than tales of a right jolly old elf.

This doesn’t mean that I have no use for the stories of our cultural Christmas. After all, I grew up listening to Currier and Ives Christmas music and watching all the Christmas TV specials about Frosty, Rudolf, and the Grinch. What’s not to love about these traditions?

Unfortunately, some Christians consistently complain that the culture has ruined our holiday by commercializing it. In fact, these folks have it backwards. Many cultures were celebrating the winter solstice long before Christians thought to make a holiday out of Jesus’ birth. Once they did, they smartly seized on the existing recognition of the solstice and its imagery of darkness and light to speak about the coming Christ child as the light of the world.

As Americans, the cultural and religious traditions of Christmas are hopelessly intertwined. Each group can either disparage the other for distorting the real holiday, or we can learn to coexist, taking the best from each side. The Christmas lights, the gift-giving, and the search for “the Christmas spirit” are all good things and can bring out the best in all of us. But is it enough? Some people string enough lights on their houses to land a small plane, some squirrel away Christmas gifts six months in advance, and there are those who bake enough cookies to feed an army; perhaps they are all yearning for deeper meaning in their days and a genuine spiritual change in their lives.

Instead of whining about excessive mistletoe and elves, we Christians should gently—and I mean gently! —point cultural Christmas lovers toward Jesus. Nothing is gained by fighting a multi-billion-dollar observance, and more to the point: as people of faith, we celebrate the very hope and transformation that many people are truly looking for. The stories of Santa are fine, but the history of Saint Nicholas is better.

I don’t know what my son thinks of our treatment of Santa Claus now that he is grown, but I do know that both my kids grew up to be fabulous servant- hearted adults who enjoy giving more than receiving, so we must have done something right as parents!