Who Is Santa Clause Anyway?

But there were various Santas, different traditions by country. St. Nicholas is said to arrive in Holland by boat from Spain, a more prosaic method of transport than the sleigh. But he only leaves gifts for good children and the naughty ones get left birch twigs by an ugly black dwarf.

1. The Finnish Santa was also a pagan figure, named Joulupukki and known for wearing goatskins and horns. But instead of giving presents, he demanded them in return for not causing trouble.
2. The British Father Christmas first appears as a minor pagan figure in the middle ages. Portrayed as a merry old man he was associated with feasting and drinking and the pagan festival of Yule. Disapproving of this pagan revelry in 1644, England’s puritans banned the celebration of Christmas calling it,”The Old Heathen’s Feasting Day”.
3. In Germany, there was the Pelznickel or Belsnickle (”Furry Nicholas”) who visited naughty children in their sleep. The name originated from the fact that the person appeared to be a huge beast since he was covered from head to toe in furs.
4. The Dutch version of St. Nicholas is that he was a lover of the poor and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians are meant to live. A bishop, Nicholas put Jesus Christ at the center of his life, his ministry, his entire existence. Families, churches, and schools are embracing true St Nicholas traditions as one way to claim the true center of Christmas—the birth of Jesus. Such a focus helps restore balance to increasingly materialistic and stress-filled Advent and Christmas seasons.

Santa as We Know Him

During his time, most Christian saints were martyred, but Nicholas has lots of stories because he lived a long life and he died in his bed.

You can select any number of stories about him, but most have in common his bringing help to people.

It was actually Dutch emigrants had taken the story of a legendary gift-bringer called ‘Sinterklaas’ to America, where he eventually became known as “Santa Claus.”

Eventually, a new figure of Father Christmas emerged, representing a spirit of benevolence and good cheer in medieval England.By the 19th century, he was evolving to more of the European Saint Nicholas.

By the mid to late 1800s, of course, Santa was appearing in Christmas cards. But the image varied greatly, as artists influenced the image.

Aparently, the idea of Santa imposing the the idea of being "nice" is a pagan idea. Imposing this pagan concept on children using an image that is meant to represent giving and even Christ himself is not Christian.

Santa has come to represent giving and the spirit of Christmast which is about JOY and GIVING and FORGIVENESS.

That is the Santa I taught my kids and is a Santa that will not instill fear and anxiety in children. Do we really want our children to obey us for fear of a God-like Santa that judges their every move? How would we feel if we were kept to that standard? Oh, that's right. Jesus cleared us of that kind of God. I guess kids don't get it so easy.

What do you think? What kind of Santa do you teach your kids about? Tell me why and if you think I'm wrong. I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks to the folowing websites for information about Santa:

• http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35
• http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=611
• http://tada07.wordpress.com/2007/12/07/the-history-and-many-faces-of-the-santa-clause-christmas-card/