How does a “Good Catholic” rectify celebrating Christmas
with The Nativity and Santa Claus? My
answer is simple: Easy... after years of practice!
My dad calls Santa Claus the Father of Socialism: a kid gets something for nothing and that is
a bad lesson for anyone, let alone kids.
My cousin claims that Santa is Satan in disguise. He represents greed and materialism. My response is no; Santa is the
opposite. He is a saint. He gives and expects nothing in return.
I can see how some people do not understand how we give
our children presents from Santa, yet we profess that
Christmas is about the birth of Christ.
My husband is agnostic, and three of my five boys have autism. I have to mix my spiritual beliefs with a
secular outlook in order to include all of my family members.
When asked years ago, my husband said that celebrating
Christmas is the right thing to do. He
grew up associating family with Christmas, and it was always celebrated, but I
needed to ensure that my boys understood the true meaning of Christmas. I taught my boys what Christmas is—the
birthday of Christ. We incorporated the
simplest rituals of a birthday: baking a
cake, singing Happy Birthday, and giving of presents.
We then delved into who was Santa. Our boys learned the history of Santa, who
was based on St. Nicholas. He was a Greek bishop back in the fourth century who
lived in Asia Minor. My boys learned the
legend of St Nick’s gifts as a dowry for three daughters so they could be
married. However, I emphasized that he
brought gifts, without thought of receiving anything in return.
One of my favorite ornaments is St. Nick bowing before
the Christ Child. This image clarifies
everything: Christ is the focus. His birth, life, death, and resurrection is
why we celebrate Christmas, and St. Nick lived his life as a Christian,
witnessing the life of Christ.
As a family, we do much more to celebrate the birth of
Christ. We celebrate the 12 Days of
Christmas because the season begins on December 25, not ends. We add the Christ Child to our Nativity Scene
on December 25 and leave it up until January 6.
It all comes down to Christ. He brings us together. He is why we celebrate. He is why St Nick
brings us gifts.
