The big question that arises during this time of the year surrounds the existence of Santa Claus. Is he real? At York University, I had taken a philosophy course which surveyed the preeminent minds in the field. One of them, Kierkegaard, had some particularly intriguing theories regarding faith. He suggested that, “Faith was like taking a giant leap and trusting the outcome will be what we have staked all of our emotions and beliefs upon, and will ultimately come true.” Santa Claus is such a leap of faith. My problem has been identifying the real Santa, he seems to be everywhere. The other day, I asked my class, “How do you know the real Santa?” Responses surrounding his authenticity included the tell-tale beard, and his outfit, and some brought up his actual age. Surprisingly, when asked if Santa was a genuine being, the majority of the grade fives said yes. They added that he was, of course, St. Nicholas. So who was St. Nicholas?
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According to numerous sources, St. Nicholas was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time, the region had belonged to the Greeks, but in present-day, on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He had dedicated his life to serving God. Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those struggling, his love for children, and his concern for sailors. Then Emperor of Rome sent him to prison and tortured him and other early Christians. After his release, he attended the pivotal Council of Nicea and died on December 6 (December 19 of the Julian calendar.) His popularity spread during the Middle Ages. He was venerated in Sicily, Greece, France, and many cities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Belgium, and Netherlands. Nicholas was so widely venerated that more than 2,000 churches were named for him, including 300 in Belgium, thirty-four in Rome, twenty-three in the Netherlands, and more than four hundred in England. Many miracles and spiritual happenings were attributed to St. Nicholas. So where does Santa Claus evolve out of this beloved Saint?
As early as 1773, the name appeared in the American press as “St. A. Claus,” but it was the author Washington Irving who gave the first detailed information about a Dutch version of St. Nicholas. In his History of New York (1809), under the pseudonym Dietrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by Black Peter) each Eve of St. Nicholas. The Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanised form in 1823, in the poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas, more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included the following details: the names of the reindeer, Santa’s laugh, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returned to his sleigh, up the chimney. (Moore wrote, “He laid his finger aside his nose.” A reference to the technique, which was drawn directly from Irving’s 1809 description.)
The American image of Santa Claus was further elaborated upon by illustrator Thomas Nast, who depicted a rotund Santa from the 1860′s to the 1880′s. Nast added such details as Santa`s workshop at the North Pole and Santa`s list of the good and bad children of the world. A human-sized version of Santa Claus, rather than the elf of Moore’s poem, was depicted in a series of Coca-Cola advertisements introduced in 1931, that ushered in the iconic red suit. In modern versions of the Santa Claus legend, only his toyshop workers were elves. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red a shiny nose, was invented in 1939 by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company. Like other pacification of European nursery rhymes, Santa Claus left his Old World companion across the Atlantic, the much feared Black Peter, or as he was known in Germany, Klaubauf, Krampus, Grampus, or Bartel. According to lore, St. Nicholas sent naughty children to him to be thrown in a duffle bag, then beaten by a stick, or at least, be given lumps of coal instead of gifts.
Central questions in philosophy deal with reality. What is real? Philip K. Dick wrote, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.” So, when some do not believe in Santa Claus, why does he not go away? He must be real. Reality is all an interpretation. If we believe Santa Claus is real, or was real, or might be real in human or spirit form, then the actual existence of this beloved being must be so. Christ spoke about the innocence of children and how we must be like them to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Is this leap of faith the true innocence and hope, which might be central to our salvation as a people? So to quote the famous editorial page from the New York Sun in 1897, “Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus!”
Manfred J. von Vulte
Deputy Headmaster
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Nice
Great story!