Nathan Stone on Coming to the Defense of Santa Claus

"When I was attending Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas - the precise year and semester, I have forgotten - I met the first opposition to Santa Claus. I had known that there were people who did not believe in the 'Christmas Man'; my parents had explained to me that such people did exist in the world. But the opposition I met at college from among some of my fellow students was different. It was not unbelief; it was the idea that the 'jolly old elf' was somehow destructive of the Catholic mentality. The way it was explained to me by several people - including an old girlfriend - was that Santa took attention and emphasis away from Jesus. All the talk of the North Pole, elves, the toyshop, the list of good and bad children, the sled and the reindeer and the Christmas Eve flight around the world diverted eyes and hearts away from the 'reason for the season' and, as such, was best left in the rubbish heap along with the discarded remains of the Christmas tree. St. Nicholas was a different story. He, being an actual, historical person, a bishop of Myra, and an attendant of the Nicaean Council, was perfectly welcome as just another member of the communion of saints.

"Just recently, I stumbled upon a kindred point of view in an essay by Joseph Pearce. Mr. Pearce declared that while he had no qualms about Father Christmas, he could not be at ease with Santa and any attempts to equate the jolly elf with the regal figure of Father Christmas, did not quite know the difference between the two; as Mr. Pearce said, one is British and the other American which, despite some similarities are two very different things.

"With all due deference to Mr. Pearce, I believe that he is mistaken. It is true that the personage of Father Christmas is much older than his counter-part in America but then that should only be expected since England is older than the United States. The first appearance of Father Christmas has disappeared as fully as the grass after the first snow whereas the appearance of Santa Claus can be pinpointed to Clement Moore's 'T'was the Night Before Christmas.' Despite these differences, it can be said that Father Christmas and Santa Claus are, in a sense, the same, just different aspects or appearances of the same person, much as Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Japan all appear different but are all simply different appearances of Our Lady. In the case of Santa Clause and Father Christmas, both are appearances of St. Nicholas."

In a recent commentary, writer Nathan Stone reflected on the mythology of Santa Claus as a natural means of expanding wonder, leading to the conclusion that, because "he is a guise of St. Nicholas and because he is a real myth, there should be no qualms in regards to teaching children to believe in Santa Claus."

To access Mr. Stone's complete post, please visit:

Crisis Magazine: In Defense of Santa Claus (22 DEC 17)