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Christmas Without Santa
A STORY FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES
BY MILO THORNBERRY
The topic of Santa Claus is one on which many concerned people can and do disagree. Santa has been a central part of many families' holiday celebrations for quite sometime. However, many People are concerned that Santa has become primarily a salesman of such things as soft drinks, cigarettes, and killer dolls Santa has also become a god of material wealth and consumption. In addition, the poor experience Christmas as a cruel hoax. You see, Santa doesn't come to the poor.
Think about how your family celebrates the birth of Christ. In the weeks preceding Christmas, do thoughts of Santa fill your mind and the minds of children important to you? If you want to observe Christmas as a holy day and you realize that anticipation of Santa's coming is really at the center in your household, then consider making some changes. The following story is meant to help teach children a new way of thinking about Santa and Christmas.
"Christmas without Santa!" Yep. That's what I said. It's hard to imagine Christmas without Santa Claus, isn't it? Why, some would say, Santa bringing gifts is the most important part of Christmas.
It's strange, isn't it? The name of the holiday is "Christmas" not "Santamas." Why do you suppose that is? I hear you back there, "It's because it is the birthday of Jesus ChristChristmas." And so it is.
How did Santa Claus get mixed up with Jesus' birthday? He's not Jesus is he? No ... He's not Jesus' father is he? No ... It's kind of a long story. You say you want to hear it anyway?
According to a very old legend, about 300 years after the birth of Christ, a child was born to a poor family in Myra (a place in the modern-day country of Turkey). His family didn't have much, but they always shared what they had with others. Nicholas was a good child and grew to be quite exceptional. When he was a teenager he joined a monastery and became a priest.
(Do you know what a monastery is? Do you know what a priest is?)
While he was in the monastery he learned of a poor family who lived in a nearby village. The family didn't have enough money for dowries for their teenage daughters. According to some old customs, dowries were given to the family of the person your daughter was going to marry. Dowries were precious things like money, gold, silver or expensive jewelry. We don't practice that custom much now, but at that time the dowry was very important. If you didn't have money for a dowry then your daughter couldn't get married. And, in that time, if a woman didn't marry she might starve or be sold into slavery.
(What do you think about the dowry custom? Why was 'it so hard for girls who didn't marry? What about boys?)
When Nicholas, heard about this family, he decided to do something to help. In the dark of night he took a bag of gold-enough for the dowry of the oldest daughter-and went to the family's house. He didn't want them to know who had given the gold because he didn't want them to feel indebted to him.
(Why didn't Nicholas let the family know who had given them the gold? Do you know what "indebted" means?)
Houses in those days did not have windows like ours do today. But there was a hole in the roof to let out smoke from cooking and heating. It was through this opening that Nicholas threw the gold so that he would not be seen. On the following two nights he tossed two more bags of gold through the holes in the roof so that the other two daughters would have dowries and could marry.
(Draw a picture of Nicholas taking the bag of gold to the house. How do you think the family members felt?)
There are many other legends about Nicholas. Most of the stories are about how he loved and cared for children or people in need. In time he was called a "Saint," Saint Nicholas.
(What do you think Saint Nicholas had to do with Christmas?)
Yes, you guessed it. The idea of Santa Claus did indeed come from Saint Nicholas. The idea about Santa coming down the chimney comes from the time when Saint Nicholas threw the bags of gold through the holes in the roof. The idea of giving gifts, especially to children, also comes from Saint Nicholas.
It is not such a bad idea. The way Saint Nicholas cared for children and shared with those in need was very much like Jesus. Sharing with those in need was a good way to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. It is not hard to imagine how the ways of Saint Nicholas came to be ways to celebrate Jesus' birthday.
After a while people didn't talk much about Saint Nicholas. They talked more about Santa Claus. What happened when Saint Nicholas began to be called Santa Claus? Now, you may say, they changed the way they said his name. True. But more changed than just this.
(Have you ever heard the name of Saint Nicholas before today?)
One thing that changed was that people forgot that Saint Nicholas gave presents to people who were poor and really needed help. They talked about how Santa was supposed to bring presents to all kids who were good.
But people didn't notice much when Santa only visited the homes of children whose parents could afford to buy presents, and not the homes of poor children. It didn't seem to matter whether the kids were good or bad, after all. Some bad kids got presents because their parents could go out and buy them. Some good kids didn't get anything because their parents were too poor.
They probably didn't see the tears in the eyes of one little girl on Christmas morning, who thought Santa must not like her. Only a few days before, she had sat on Santa's lap at the shopping mall and told him all the things she'd like to have. He asked her if she'd been good. She thought she'd been good. She didn't understand that her mom and dad were just too poor to put presents under the tree. Nobody heard her as she wondered, "If Santa comes to good boys and girls, and he didn't come to me, maybe I am bad!"
(Do you know any kids who didn't get gifts at Christmas? Do you know why they didn't?)
Yes. No doubt about it. Something had happened to this new Saint Nicholas-the one renamed Santa Claus. Santa Claus was now used by stores and on television to get people to buy things they or their families might not even need. Even the children sometimes forgot about giving and began to think about how many things they might get at Christmas.
Santa Claus is still with us. You can see him on television or at the shopping malls most anytime after the first of November. But he's changed. He's not Saint Nicholas anymore! He doesn't help us remember whose birthday we are celebrating at Christmas like Saint Nicholas did.
"Well, what are we going to do this year without Santa Claus?" Did you know that was exactly the same question that some children asked a couple of weeks ago? A couple of those kids had tears in the corners of their eyes. Jamal had already written a letter to Santa asking for a Nintendo and a Cabbage Patch doll. Angela, just that week, had whispered in Santa's ear at the mall that she wanted a large dump truck and a whole host of other toys.
I'll bet you think the tears were because those kids thought they weren't going to get the things they had asked Santa for. Well, you're wrong. After they heard the story about Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus, they thought about the children whom Santa never visited. That's why there were tears in their eyes.
Oh, they had known for some time that it was their mothers and fathers who bought and put the gifts from Santa under the tree. But they had just kind of thought that all mothers and fathers put gifts from Santa under their trees. If you listen, you can hear their conversation:
"Santa Claus is cruel!" said Jamal.
"Yeah, Santa is supposed to bring gifts to any kids who are good," Greg responded with indignation.
"And you know that we get our gifts whether we are good or not," chimed in Angela.
"You may not be good, Angela, but I always am," said Greg throwing back his shoulders and standing straight. The other kids laughed at his joke.
"It's probably not very funny if you believe in Santa Claus and then you don't get any present," Greg added.
"I guess I would think that I had been bad," mused Angela, "and that's not right. There wouldn't be any gifts because the family just didn't have enough money. It wouldn't have anything to do with whether I'd been bad or good."
"If it weren't for Santa Claus at least we would know that not getting gifts doesn't have anything to do with whether we're being good or bad," concluded Jamal. "So I still think he is cruel. Do you want to know what I am going to do when I get to school on Monday?" he said, waving his arms excitedly. "I am going to tell all of the kids what a fake Santa Claus is, and how believing in him just hurts poor people. 11
"Yeah," joined Greg, "I remember how Sam and Janie didn't say much after Christmas last year when we were all bragging about what we got for Christmas. They didn't say anything, because they didn't get much. I can't wait to tell them about Santa Claus."
"What a minute," said Angela thoughtfully, "I think their parents ought to be the ones to tell them."
More thoughtful now, Greg added, "Did you know that their dad hasn't been able to find a job since the Ford plant closed?"
Paying no attention to Greg, Angela went on with her own thoughts, "I think we made them feel bad when we bragged about what we got. Instead of telling them about Santa, maybe there is something else we could do."
"Do you mean like trying Saint Nicholas' way?" wondered Jamal. "Instead of thinking so much about what we want to get, maybe we could do some of the things Saint Nicholas did."
"You've got some bags of gold you're going to toss down their chimney?" quipped Greg.
"No, but at least we could do something for Sam and Janie this Christmas," Jamal said firmly.
Suddenly remembering what Greg said earlier, Angela blurted out, "What they really need is for their dad to be able to get a job!"
"I wish I could drop a job down their chimney," Jamal said with a little twinkle in his eye.
"Come on. Don't kid around," said a now serious Greg.
"Well, I guess I can't get a job for their dad," Jamal concluded, "but I'll think of something."
"While you're thinking of something, why don't we start inviting Sam and Janie to cat at our table in the lunchroom," Angela said.
(If you were one of the characters in this story, which one would you like to be? And what kinds of things would you say? What would you do about Sam and Janie? Is it important who eats at your table at school?)
What's the Next Step?
1. Shift the focus away from Santa in the weeks before Christmas with Advent activities. Let the household services, activities and guidelines for giving set the tone for Christmas preparations in your household. When helped by adults, children can get into the spirit of remembering whose birthday it really is.
2. Recapture the Saint Nicholas tradition. Encourage children to imitate Saint Nicholas instead of simply waiting for gifts from Santa.
3. Actively resist Santa Claus theology. This means abandoning attempts to manipulate children's behavior by saying, "If you are not good Santa will not bring you anything." It also means talking frankly to children about how Santa Claus theology affects poor children and how it conflicts with Jesus' concern for the poor.
4. Collaborate with others who want to make changes in the role Santa plays in their celebrations. Whether you are a concerned single adult, the relative of a young child or a parent with young children, support each other as you attempt to make these important changes.
Milo Thornberry, former director of Alternatives, has also served churches in Alaska and Oregon.
Make copies of this resource under the Creative Commons attribution, not-for-profit license.
Many More Interesting Christmas Articles
Page updated 11 Sept. 2013
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