I hope you enjoy!
The Truth about Santa
By Anson L. Service
Copyright 2007
Prologue
Dear Parents:
The Truth about Santa is an inspired book to offer parents a teaching tool for the delicate matter of gently exposing children to the reality Santa Claus and other historically distorted figures who are based in and out of the realms of theology. The focus of The Truth About Santa is to offer a short narrative of the various historical accounts of Santa and a more accurate concept of Santa, or Saint Nicholas rather than attempting to harmonize the hundreds or even thousands of versions of the Saint Nicholas story. I have also removed some of the difficult concepts such as dowry and religious politics, replacing them with more child friendly concepts that teach kindness and gratitude.
After great amounts of thought, prayer, research, and meditation on the subject, I found that the modern character of Santa Clause shares many striking similarities with other people, deity, and characters many in the world also hold belief in and base their lives upon. The general belief about Santa Clause is:
• He is a man that lives today despite having lived thousand of years ago
• He cares deeply about all children and adults alike
• He knows the most intimate desires and secrets of little children and adults
• He offers gifts out of the kindess of his heart with the expectation of receiving nothing in return
• He rewards good behavior
• He is in a place that is distant - yet close enough to be here in an instant
• He has many helpers
• He performs many miraculous tasks
• He is a man that very few in the world have seen with their own eyes, yet builds great excitement when spoken of
• He has billions of believers worldwide.
Who else does this accurately portray?
Many parents feel there is no harm in teaching their children to believe in or have faith in such a figure, which may be true according to individual families; however, depending on that family’s belief system, the first phase of harm can come when the child finds out they have been intentionally tricked for many years by virtually all adults whom they initially trusted so completely, in this grand hoax. This may result in psychological problems and future complications in trusting adults and authority figures. While that is a negative effect, the real harm comes a little later in life when, as a teenager, he or she faces tough decisions in the face of seemingly overwhelming peer pressure. What teachings will that teen-ager base his or her decisions on? Probably nothing other than modeling, because they may not be thinking straight under that type of pressure. Sometimes all he or she will be able to base decisions on is the feelings they have inside. Is that feeling coercing them to not partake in negative experiences based on the trust they have in their parents and other adults they have grown to trust, or is it based on “what else have they lied to me about? Jesus?”
The decision he or she makes may be based on the teachings of adults or a parent, who are the same people who lead them to believe in something that wasn’t true for so many years, and the very words of wisdom regarding which friends to hang out with, drinking, smoking and drugs may be called into question, especially under the influence of that teenager’s peer group.
If the child is raised in a Christian home or a home where another higher power is represented, the lines may become blurred between reality and fiction. Take for instance Jesus, a figure that fits the description above of Santa Clause, yet Santa was merely a tradition that has little merit as we see him today, resulting in an enormous hoax… but is Jesus? They are largely unknowingly represented the same way in most Judeo Christian American households.
So who defines the difference between the two, and which story will the child believe, if either? When a teenager’s “friend” says there is no harm in smoking pot just once, or getting drunk once in a while, I wouldn’t want any young person to have the idea in the back of their head that they should trust their friend more than they can trust their parents. If the teen has religious beliefs that help govern their decisions, the teen may say to his or her self, “I don’t think I should do this… but what if all I have been taught is just nonsense or some long standing tradition that isn’t even real? Should I give up this once in a lifetime chance to party with my friends just because church and my Mom and Dad tell me not to? What if they are just talking nonsense again?”
As a father of three boys, my wonderful wife and I carefully chose to keep the fun and inspiring tradition of Santa Clause alive by teaching the truth about Santa Claus, or Saint Nicolas. I am fervent in distinguishing between fictional characters like Santa at the mall, The Tooth Fairy, or Michael Jackson (that was a joke), and the ones we believe to be real, such as our Savior Jesus Christ. One is real, and the other two are not, and my children trust me that I will never lie to them, especially about something as wonderful and serious as our personal relationship with Christ, who is a man that lives today despite having lived several thousand years ago, cares deeply about all children and adults alike, knows of the desires of little children and adults alike, offers great gifts for nothing in return and rewards good behavior, lives in a place that is distant yet close enough to be here in an instant, has many helpers, performs many miraculous tasks, and is a man that very few in the world have seen with their own eyes, yet builds great excitement when spoken about.
If you are concerned about how to teach your children about Santa, this book was designed and written to help you segue into truth and away from those things that could lead our future generations away from those things we hold dearest in our lives. Let us not lead our children astray by playing along with the confusion the world has created about higher figures, whether it be The Buddha, Jesus the Christ, or any other spiritual truth, and teach our children the truth about these sensitive and powerful matters. Let us lead our children always in truth and righteousness.
Anson L. Service
The Truth about Santa
p. 1
Many years ago, in a village far away lived a young boy named Nicolas. His mother named him Nicolas because it meant "Hero of the People." She knew that he would do many good things for the people in his village.
p.2
Nicolas followed the teachings of Jesus and decided to serve the people in his village like Jesus did. He gave his food to other children that were hungry and was great friends to those who had none. Nicolas was always there to help anyone in need.
p.3
As Nicolas grew into a young man, he became a Bishop. The villagers called him the Boy Bishop because he was so young.
The villagers gave him a beautiful red coat and red cap to keep him warm. When he rode into the village on his horse, the children saw him coming and ran into the streets to see him.
p.4
One day Nicolas heard about a poor old man who was too old to work. He had three beautiful daughters, Acacia, Adara, and Anastasia. The poor old man did not have money to feed them and was going to send them off to work one by one in a land far away so they could survive. The old man loved his daughters more than anything but knew he might not ever see them again.
p.5
On the night before the oldest daughter Acacia was to leave the village, she cried as she washed her family’s clothes for the last time, setting them in front of the fireplace to dry.
p.6
The family said a prayer and then went to sleep hoping their prayers would be answered and Acacia would not have to leave her family.
p.7
Late that night, Nicolas crept through the village to the home of the poor old man and his daughters and climbed up on the roof top. He pulled a golden ball the size of an orange out of his pocket, and in it were golden coins. Nicholas quietly dropped it down the chimney…
p.8
and that golden ball rolled right into Acacia’s stocking.
p. 9
The next morning, to Acacia’s great surprise she found the gold in her stocking. Tears of joy and gratitude came to the old man and his three daughters. They lived as a happy family once again, and that year Acacia met the man of her dreams and they were married right there in their little village. Acacia and her new husband moved next door to her father and sisters and they were all very happy.
p. 10
One year later the old man was very sad again. Winter had come and there was no more money or food to feed his other two daughters. This time the middle daughter, Adara would have to leave to find work.
p.11
The night before Adara was to leave the village she cried as she washed her family’s clothes for the last time and set them in front of the fireplace to dry.
p.12
The family said a prayer and went to sleep hoping once again a miracle would come and Adara would not have to leave their family.
p.13
Late that night, Nicolas crept through the village to their home and climbed up that familiar stone wall that led to the roof top. Nicolas dropped another ball of gold coins down the chimney, and that ball rolled right into Adara’s stocking.
p.14
The next morning Adara excitedly ran to her stockings and found the golden coins, and the family rejoiced. A few months later Adara met the man of her dreams, married him, and they built a small home on the other side of her fathers house so they could still be close to the ones they loved.
p.15
When the next winter came, Nicolas heard through the village that the third daughter, Anastasia was getting ready to leave her family to travel to a far off land to work, once again, Nicolas surprised them with another ball of gold coins. Anastasia was able to stay home, meet the man of her dreams and move in with her father to care for him the rest of his life, and they were all very happy.
p.16
Nicholas’ good deeds didn’t stop with the poor old man and his three daughters. Since Nicolas was friends with all of the villagers, especially the children, he knew just what they needed. He crept out only at night delivering his good deeds down the chimneys of the entire village the rest of his life.
p.17
Because Nicolas did what Jesus taught, he was called a saint. Over the many years and many lands, Saint Nicolas has been called “Sint Nicolass”, “Sinterklass”, and even a name you may recognize… “Santa Claus”.
p.18
When you see a Santa in the mall, or ringing a bell, or even at a party, remember Saint Nicolas and all of the good things Nicolas did for his village many years ago.
Remember why Nicolas helped his friends in need; because Jesus was born for you and me.
