Should Christians teach their kids about Santa Clause? That seems to be the question that many home school parents are asking themselves. There is a distinct danger that Christian kids will focus not on the birth of our Savior but on the materialism that so often permeates the Christmas season, unfortunately linked to the character of Santa Clause. Before we make this decision, we should first take a look at the history of Jack Frost, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, and Kris Kringle. Where did the big guy come from? Home schoolers (especially Christian home schoolers) should keep the following in mind when teaching their children about the meaning of Christmas. Let’s unearth the origins of Santa Clause together.
Older home schoolers will most likely recognize that Santa Clause is rooted in the character of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nick was actually a Christian Turkish bishop famous throughout his country for giving gifts to the poor. Spreading generosity across the land, Saint Nick even provided dowries for three indigent women, allowing them to achieve a proper marriage. Saving these poor girls from hopeless lives of prostitution, the legend of Saint Nicholas gradually spread across generations.
A popular Dutch folk tale developed about Saint Nicholas, here called Sinterklaas. Over time, this character spread throughout the world, to a variety of disparate cultures. Each country’s take on Sinterklaas was a little different. In places such as Iraq and Chile, Vader Kersfees and Viejo Pascuero respectively serve as Santa Clause figures. Most countries have their own personalized version of Sinterkaas.
For instance, Russian children celebrate the life of Ded Moroz, also known as “Father Frost.” Ded Moroz’s long white beard and red fur garb most closely informed the modern American “Santa Clause.” The name Santa Clause is the result of a mispronunciation of the word “Sinterklaas” among Dutch-American settlers.
Our perception of Santa Clause has been informed not so much by folk tale or tradition as by advertisement. Shockingly, early Coca-Cola advertisements did a lot to popularize the idea of Santa Clause being a chubby, jolly fellow in red and white fur. Legend has it that Coca-cola’s advertising department was looking for a way to promote their hottest beverage during the frosty winter months. Because most people weren’t looking for a cold drink during Christmas, they looked to illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop a character that could inextricably link Coca-cola to Christmas. Drawing from elements in the Christian roots of Saint Nicholas and existing pop culture imagery, Sundblom created the most recognizable Santa figure yet. This perception still holds today.
Although Santa has a clear Christian pedigree, today’s media has done much to secularize the image in order to sell products. In turn, many Christian families and Christian churches have opted to forgo teaching their children about Santa Clause, fearing that it takes the focus off of Christ. Christian Home school families have a decision to make regarding teaching their home schoolers the legend of Saint Nicholas this Christmas. It’s important to remember that informing our home schoolers about the original character of Saint Nicholas will teach them about generosity, not greediness. Don’t let modern pop culture pervert what is a beneficial lesson for the home schooler. In actuality, Santa is synonymous with Christmas giving, not receiving.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.
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