The True Story of Santa Claus
It has been promoted that belief in Santa Claus is against Jesus but they are actually more connected than people realize. There is a reason that devoted Christian, C.S. Lewis included Santa Claus as a character in his book The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and had the character Mr. Tumnus refer to the White Witch’s reign of terror as always winter but never Christmas. The true story and connection of Santa and Jesus has been lost, purposely by satan, so we must fight to make sure the truth doesn’t get lost. That is why I am sharing the story today which is compiled from various sources and eye witness accounts.
In the years after Jesus death, there was a man named Nicholas who lived in the North in the area close to Bethlehem and worked as a carpenter. 1 year Nicholas decided that he wanted to do something special to honour Jesus’ birthday. Nicholas figured out how many children lived in his village and went to work in his shop creating toy figurines out of wood.
When Nicholas was finished, he waited until the night before Jesus birthday and went around the village leaving the toys in front of the doors where children lived. The children of the village loved it so Nicholas continued doing this every year to celebrate Jesus birthday. After a couple years, the people in the village figured out who left the toys which caused the popularity of Nicholas to grow. So much that he attracted other talented tradesmen that liked what Nicholas was doing and wanted to help. This meant the toys got better and better over the years.
Instead of limiting the gifts to only his village, bc of all the help he had, Nicholas started delivering toys to all the surrounding villages where children lived. As the years went by and Nicholas got older, he couldn’t keep up with his regular duties like he used to as carpenter so he had to stop actually making the toys. By this point he had grown a big white beard and carried a big belly thanks to all the gifts of food thankful people would bring him for what he did. But 1 of his favourite things to do was to take his wagon around from village to village delivering the toys so he was always the one to do it. He even made an apparatus to attach a lantern to the lead donkey so he could deliver the toys at night. Even though Nicholas could no longer make the toys, people never stopped coming to help every year to make the toys.
Eventually Nicholas passed away but the delivery of toys to the children to celebrate Jesus birthday did not stop. Every year people kept making the toys and delivering them to the children and in a tribute to Nicholas, the one that delivered the toys would always grow a big beard and have a big belly. The Legend of Nicholas started to spread with more and more people further and further away starting to make toys for kids on Jesus birthday. And it continues to this day…
So there it is, the true story of Santa Claus. Easy to see how we got the Santa story that we are all familiar with. Santa Claus = Nicholas. People coming to his workshop to help him make the toys = Elves. Donkeys + the Lantern = Rudolph and the Reindeer. Village in the Northern Region where Nicholas lived = The North Pole. Once the legend grew and more people started participating = the Miracle of Christmas. It all stemmed from real events and people, someone just turned it into a fantastical story to capture the imagination of children and adults.
This is why Christmas presents were only for kids for a long time but once we built our modern society everyone started getting presents. The original name of Santa Claus was Father Christmas, Santa Claus came later. As an adult, belief in Santa Claus means that you become a Nicholas to your village whether it is family, friends or strangers but especially strangers. If you become aware of someone, esp children, that might not have a ‘good Christmas,’ deliver something to them that they need. If parents can’t afford a bunch of presents, help them out. Belief in Santa Claus is to embrace the Christmas spirit, that is why the scene at the end of Elf where everyone starts singing and believing always gets to me. How I explain Santa Claus to kids is that Jesus already has the best and only present He could ever want, our love. So He doesn’t want any presents and instead wants us to have them so he sends Santa Claus to deliver them. Then when the kids grow up and realize the fantastical Santa Claus story isn’t real, I tell them the true story and that when they grow up to be adults, they become Santa Claus. Great teaching moment for kindness, love and compassion for family, friends and strangers.
As adults, if we believe in Santa Claus and become a Nicholas to our village, we will help so many people that desperately need it. Presents are sometimes an argumentative subject, some think that they ruin the spirit of Christmas and there shouldn’t be any gifts. But as we saw in the story of Nicholas, the act of giving inspired 1000’s of years of celebrating the birth of Jesus and created so much positivity and happiness. I also realize that the struggles and stress of Christmas can lead to a lot of very negative emotions but that is why it is so important for everyone to believe in Santa Claus. If we have millions of Nicholas’s out there then nobody will be having a bad Christmas. This is why satan wants the true story buried and forgotten.
I also realize that the connection of Santa Claus and Jesus has almost been completely severed but if we fight to out the true story back into the public conscience, then that connection will rebuild stronger than ever. For Jesus to be able to die for out sins, He must be born. What a gift that was to humanity. We can never begin to repay that to Jesus but we can begin to repay that to others. By having compassion, generosity, and empathy, by going out of our way to make sure nobody gets left behind on Christmas, we honour Jesus in the best possible way. So remember that you don’t have to choose between Jesus or Santa bc now that you know the true story of their strong connection, they can and should be celebrated together.
Before I finish this piece, I just want to list my top 10 Christmas movies:
Honourable mention – Rocky IV. Christmas is a big theme in the movie and we see Good overcoming evil so it is definitely a Christmas movie lol
Bad Santa – Hilarious movie with a good story but some of the content is not exactly in the Christmas spirit lol so it didn’t make my Top 10 but it’s still a great movie
The Santa Clause series – Love these movies and always watch them around Christmas. Had to make some tough cuts somewhere so this was one of them but these movies are still Christmas classics.
Scrooged – Bull FN Murray. Need I say more lol
Christmas Vacation – Like I said, some tough cuts had to be made. This is a great, funny movie. Not sure why but I didn’t watch it as much as others growing up so I had to leave it off the list. Shitters full lol
Jingle All The Way – Tough to leave this one off the list bc it is really great and I love watching it but had to be some tough cuts somewhere.
10 – A Christmas Carol (Alastair Sim 1951 version) – Masterpiece of a movie with incredible acting from Alastair Sim. My Mum loved this movie and would always watch it with and we loved it.
9 – Miracle on 34th Street – This movie always makes me feel so good and I enjoy both the original 1947 version and the 1994 remake. The delivery of all the mail addressed to Santa Claus is the best climax. Santa is real.
8 – It’s A Wonderful Life – another masterpiece of a film with an amazing performance from James Stewart. Incredible message to appreciate the life you have and that we all make a difference in people’s lives whether we know it or not. Plus you can’t believe in Angels without belief in God so it brings people closer to God which is the most important thing. Will always remain a Christmas classic.
7 – The Grinch Who Stole Christmas – The cartoon will always be king to me but Jim Carrey was phenomenal in the live action version which I also really enjoy. Great message that with or without presents, the Christmas spirit is always there and most important. ‘You’re A Mean One, Mr Grinch’ is legendary and 1 of my favourite songs to listen to at Christmas.
6 – A Charlie Brown Christmas – Christmas isn’t complete without watching this awesome movie. Made those of us that can’t have a big fancy tree feel better about our ‘Charlie Brown tree.’ Great message about not letting the consumerism ruin the Christmas spirit. It evens quotes the Bible, Luke 2:8-14, which talks about the birth of Jesus and saying that is the true meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas Charlie Brown.
5 – Die Hard – Christmas theme throughout, Good overcoming evil and yes I will fight you on this one lol Die Hard is absolutely a Christmas movie.
4 – Home Alone 2 – On the *must watch* list at Christmas. It’s hard to choose between this and the first one bc they are both hilarious. I love that it takes place in New York, a city I have been fascinated with since I was a kid. So many classic scenes and what kid didn’t want the Talkboy after seeing this. Love the message that being with family on Christmas is the most important thing. Can’t say enough good things about this.
3 – Home Alone – Pretty much a perfect movie. The way that it builds up to the final awesome sequence of Kevin defending his house is flawless. Tons of laughs all the way through and a story that keeps you engaged no matter how many times you watch it. Amazing performances from Macauley Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. I should probably mention the entire cast bc everyone was phenomenal. Legendary cameo from John Candy. My fav part is when Kevin puts the spider and Marv and he freaks out LOL can’t think of anything I would change about this one, it is that good. A Christmas classic that needs to be watched at least once during the season.
2 – A Muppet Family Christmas – I LOVED this movie as a kid, thought it was so funny and couldn’t get enough of seeing all of your classic Muppet/Sesame Street characters all together. But this movie has been buried for some reason and is never shown on regular TV anymore or on any streaming service. It used to crush me every year to search for it in the TV guide but never find it. I have it in my personal collection to make sure I can watch it every year. Everyone slipping on the ice still makes me laugh hard and I pray that never changes. I always feel so good after watching this movie and I can’t wait to have kids and share it with them some day.
1 – Elf – Perfect movie. Hilarious, sweet, engaging story, incredible performances and a great message to always keep the Christmas spirit. I roar with laughter so many times throughout the movie and the ending sequence always has me pinching my leg if I’m watching with other people lol the chemistry between Will Ferrell and Zoey Deschanel is off the charts and they are supported with great performances from James Caan, Mary Steenburgen and Daniel Tay. Such a quotable movie you even hear them out of the Christmas season. As a huge Will Ferrell fan, I can’t express how awesome it is to see him crush a Christmas movie. The message, the story, the laughs are all as good as it gets. No doubt my favourite Christmas movie.
I also want to share a link to my Christmas Music playlist on Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3qWkwBAdQ2CBmeXuv04QvX
I absolutely love Christmas music and can’t get enough of it during the season. Singing Christmas carols is one of the best ways to get into the Christmas spirit so I definitely don’t want it to ever get lost. Here is a list of some of my favourite Christmas songs:
-All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
-Rockin Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
-It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
-Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
-It’s Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas – Michael Buble
-A Holly Jolly Christmas – Burt Ives
-Away In A Manger – Pentatonix
-Hallelujah – Pentatonix
-Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays – NSYNC
-O Holy Night – NSYNC
-You Make it Feel Like Christmas – Gwen Stefani feat Blake Shelton
-Under The Christmas Lights – Gwen Stefani
-Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Kacey Musgraves
-Christmas Don’t Be Late – Kacey Musgraves
-I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas – Kacey Musgraves
-Winter Wonderland – Tony Bennett
-Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Jackson 5
-Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry
-Christmas in Hollis – Run DMC
-Mistletoe – Justin Bieber
-This Christmas – Christina Aguilera
-Christmas All Over Again – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
-Winter Wonderland – Jason Mraz
-Silent Night – Pentatonix
-It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Amy Grant
-Joy To The World/Our God Saves – Paul Baloche, All Sons and Daughters
-O Come All Ye Faithful – Darlene Zschech, HopeUC
-Noel – Chris Tomlin, Lauren Daigle
-O Come Let Us Adore Him – Hillsong Worship
-Gloria(Hark The Herald Angels Sing/Angels We Have Heard On High) – Jason Castro
-We Three Kings – Alexander Jean, Casey Abrams
-O Holy Night – Kari Jobe
-It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas–Perry Como, Fontane Sisters, Mitchell Ayres & His Orchestra
-Let It Snow! – Frank Sinatra, B. Swanson Quartet
-Carol of the Bells – Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, John Williams
-Here Comes Santa Claus – Gene Autry
-You’re A Mean One, Mr Grinch – Thurl Ravenscroft
-Joy to the World – Nat King Cole
-Dominick The Donkey – Lou Monte
-Go Tell It on the Mountain – Pentatonix
-Happy Xmas – John Lennon, Yoko Ono
-Underneath the Tree – Kelly Clarkson
-Born is the King – Hillsong Worship
-Mary, Did You Know? – Pentatonix
-Light of the World – Lauren Daigle
-He Shall reign Forevermore – Chris Tomlin
-White Christmas – Otis Redding
-Silver Bells – Perry Como
-Chanukah Song – Adam Sandler
-White Christmas – The Drifters
-Frosty The Snowman 1991 remix – The Beach Boys, Sweet, Mark Linett
-Feliz Navidad – Jose Feliciano
-Home For the Holidays – Perry Como
-Shake Up Christmas – Train
-Silver Bells – Sarah McLachlan
-Let It Snow – Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight
-Please Come Home For Christmas – Kelly Clarkson
-Like It’s Christmas – Jonas Brothers
-Sleigh Ride – Andy Williams
-Little Drummer Boy – Pentatonix
-Santa Claus is Back in Town – Elvis Presley
-The Christmas Song – Justin Bieber, Usher
-Thank God It’s Christmas – QUEEN
-Oiche Chiun(Silent Night) – Enya
-God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – Perry Como
-Driving Home For Christmas – Chris Rea
-Lonely Pup (In A Christmas Shop) – Adam Faith
-Jingle Bells – Boney M
-Fairytale of New York – The Pogues feat Kirsty MacColl
Was originally going to post about 20 songs but I couldn’t choose so I posted the entire playlist for those that don’t have Spotify. It’s a great mix of Christmas and worship. Lauren Daigle is an unbelievable singer and her songs on this list fill me with so much energy and emotion. Man I can’t wait for December which is when I allow myself to start listening to Christmas music, they all have such a palpable feel good energy to them.
Well that about wraps this up, just wanted to put the True Story of Santa Claus out there to try and keep the Christmas Spirit strong. If it helps create even 1 more Nicholas it will be worth it. Go out of your way to help anyone you can, be a light in someone’s life like Jesus is in our lives. The Christmas season should be a happy blessed time for every human being. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice to give us the gift of salvation, we can never pay that back but we can honour it by helping our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ any way that we can. I pray that every human being gets to enjoy fellowship with their family and friends and has a very Merry Christmas!
“And we heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight, Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight!”
