Are you Santa?

picture from Christmas 2007 

Taylor wanted a straight answer when he said this the other day:  "Mom, just admit it- YOU ARE SANTA!! I caught you sneaking to go put things in the stockings when I was little.."  I honestly don't think that Taylor ever really did catch us, but he somehow he has created this narrative for himself now as he sorts it all out in his head.

When Anna and Taylor were little, there was magic in the season and there was such delight in the surprises that awaited on Christmas. While we never made Advent all about Santa, we had fun with the stories and the lore around the season.  We have always left out cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve (and cereal too since Anna said that made more sense to give Santa energy ), cheese for Santa Mouse, and reindeer food for the reindeer gang.   We left out our stockings and loved to see what was in store on Christmas morning.  We shared stories about Saint Nicholas and how this real historical character transformed into the modern day Santa Claus.  We talked about how Santa/St. Nicholas can help us prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus.  On some Christmas mornings, we have hung balloons (just like on the kids' birthdays) and we've blown out candles on a breakfast birthday cake.  For Christmas is a grand celebration welcoming the Light into the world.

A few years ago, there was a New York Times article by Martha Brockenbrough that helped to respond to the Santa question.   While I was not as articulate as this letter, this is the essence of what I tried to explain to Taylor with his question to me about being Santa.

(The background of the article is that Martha’s daughter had figured out the truth about Santa, and this left her thinking about how to respond.  She did it with the following letter.) 

Dear Lucy,

Thank you for your letter. You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”

I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.

The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.

I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)

I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the Christmas magic stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights.

This won’t make you Santa, though.

Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.

It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents, and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.

Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy.

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.

So, no, I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.

I love you and I always will.

Mama

picture from 2007 

These quotes below are from a book called Dance With God and they also offer some other good insights into this question of "Are you Santa?" 

“The mythology of St. Nicholas is a manifestation of a great inner truth.  We want to celebrate Christmas with the story of St. Nicholas and Santa Claus in a way that he does not upstage our celebration of our birth of Jesus.”[i]

“Like St. John the Baptist who teachers us how to “make straight the way of the Lord” during Advent, St. Nicholas effaces himself for the sake of what is coming that is more important.”  [ii]

“What we taught and believed is that St. Nicholas is real on the inside. He comes back to this earth from his place in heaven and relives his holy actions. One way in which he functions is through any person willing to continue his work of generosity, justice and creativity. He lives in the hearts of mothers and fathers who know about him and understand his ways. He lives in the hearts and actions of children who catch on to his message and, now wise to his ways, participate in his secret giving. He puts the ideas into our head and the actions into our hands that further his work here on earth. The spirit of Nicholas rises up every Advent and fills the house with his mysterious and unseen secrets. He inspires how we prepare our Christmas gifts during Advent and the spirit in which we give and receive… That has inspired the concept that we are each one “a little Nicholas” and during Advent the children creep and sneak about doing one another a good turn, never letting on ‘who done it.’ ”  [iii]

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[i] - To Dance with God by Gertrud Mueller Nelson (pg. 76)

[ii] - To Dance with God by Gertrud Mueller Nelson (pg. 81)

[iii] - To Dance with God by Gertrud Mueller Nelson (pg. 83)