The tales of Santa Claus

He has been known by a couple names some being – Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, while the young and flamboyant shall simply refer to him as Santa. However, Santa is famously known as the extremely jolly, fat white bearded man, clad in a red suit trimmed with snow white fur and shiny black boots, most of all Santa is famous for his generosity. The story of Santa Claus begins with St. Nicholas, a bishop who lived in Myra in the 4th century, today that city is found in Turkey. A kind man with a strong Christian background that came from a very wealthy family, he inherited a humongous chuck of wealth from his parents, who died in an epidemic. St. Nicholas is one of the few that followed Jesus’ teachings of ‘sell what you have and give it to the poor’. They say immortality is impossible, but St. Nicholas received some sort of immortality for being the man behind the legend of Father Christmas. Santa received his name from the Dutch legend Sinter Klaas. The myth is that Santa Claus is expected to come every year on Christmas Eve. He travels in a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer from the North Pole riding throughout the globe. He climbs out the chimney and leaves impressive gifts for the children. He is also believed to have elves that work in his toy shop, assisting him in the creation of toys. Santa means different things to different kinds of people, depending on how old one is physically and mentally (since I know a couple of 30 year olds that are still waiting on Santa’s Christmas present.) the truth is that Santa is a myth and some parents use Santa as a way of secretly rewarding their children for being good generally while to some parents, this whole Santa business Is a bruise to their pockets. However some parents do not care an iota about rewards or Santa for that matter. In certain African homes, the child gets to tell the parent what they want Santa to bring for them and usually it doesn’t go past a certain amount of money, or else it will be taken out of the next terms pocket money. So, let us face it Santa has become the epitome of the world. He is loved by all the children and parents encourage it. But the big question is, is Christmas about Santa Claus or is it about the birth of baby Jesus? Over the years, there are beliefs that Santa was created by the evil people of this world to replace Jesus. As a matter of fact some associate it with paganism. The argument is that children are taught to go to the wrong source for gifts, they are encouraged to be nice throughout the year but for the wrong reasons. Santa is believed to create a heart of materialism in the hearts of the children, There is no harm in receiving gifts but isn’t better to teach the little ones, that it is better to give than to receive. Well call them religious fanatics if you must, but the observation made is that children do not even bother to go to church on Christmas day, their prayers are in fact directed to Santa to deliver their presents. So the controversial query would be Is Santa a good creation or not? Like earlier noted, beliefs are that Santa was created to replace Jesus, hence the similarities between Santa Claus and Jesus. So the ball still lies in the court of the adults. Should the children really miss out on the fun of expecting Father Christmas and receiving all those presents? The truth is that children are all about fun. On the other hand, isn’t it your responsibility to decide what your children believe in and how to bring them up, teaching them that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and not the coming of Santa. amamunanura@gmail.com