The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-12-23
Do YOU BELIEVE
IN SANTA CLAUS !?

IldJ JH6fb Is d Santa CLAUS!
Some people say we should not.
They are people of practical and literal
mind, lacking somewhat in magma
ton and jealous for truth. They
say We are telling the children some
thing that is not true and a time
must come when they will discover
the deception.
Other people think it is quite all
right to tell the children of Santa
Claus The love of parents for chill
dren is real, the love of friends for
friends, the spirit of goodwill and
benevolence, of jollity in family circle
and neighborhood, all these are real
and these are what Santa Claus stands
for. Children will learn some day or
other that Santa Claus himself is not
real but at the same time they will
see that he Is a representation of
things that are real and precious in
deed
There is something wrong with
both these opinions. Neither one of
them knows who Santa Claus is and
where he comes from and hence they
don't know just what to tell the chill
dren The Catholic parent and teach
er should know how to tell children
of Santa Claus in the right way. 1t is
a story that belongs to our heritage OF
faith and we must not allow it to be
emptied of it's Christian meaning and
made mere pagan fairy tale. Santa
Claus is rapidly becoming the prop
erty of department stores and settle
ment houses, a mere game for the
entertainment OF children which does
arouse some interest in infants but
which is regarded with scepticism or
ridiculed as superstition by children
not yet entered into the teens. How
different this from the Santa Claus
of the Catholic home and school, who
needed no department store or settle
ment house because he was the prop
erty of the child's own heart. How
| short-sighted the Catholic parent and
teacher who fails to make Santa Claus
what he has been for ages, the in
structor of childhood in the eternal
truths OF Christian faith.
Our Santa Claus custom, like our
Christmas tree custom, comes from
Germany. His original name is Saint
Nicholas, or in German Sanct
Nikolaus. Santa is Saint. And Niko-
laus is shortened sometimes to Mix
and sometimes to Klaus. And so you
have Sanct Klaus or Santa Claus.
But ST. Nicholas himself was not
| German. His name is originally Greek
and he was Bishop in Asia Minor
who lived there some sixteen hundred
years ago, about the year 800 when
Constantine put an end to the perse-
cution of Christians.
Bishop st. Nicholas was noted,
among other, things, for his charity
and love of the poor; and one story
| that was told over and over forever
after him was that of how he once
gave aid to poor family in secret
way by throwing gifts of money in
their window on three successive
nights.
Long afterwards when the memory
of st. Nicholas, along with that OF
many other saints, had spread through
out Christian Europe, it became the
custom to invoke his aid in case OF
need, especially in need of the mate
rial things of life. A right-minded per-
son will always turn to God in time
of need, 10 God the giyer OF all goods.
And it is quite natural for Christian
people to ask the saints to add their
prayers, especially such saint as ST.
Nicholas who in his lifetime in this
world showed sympathy for those in
need. The Christian faithful have al
ways been drawn by the human quail
| ties of the saints as by those OF our
Lord Himself
And SO, somehow, in Germany es-
pecially, it came to be the custom
that little children were taught, and
very rightly surely, to pray to God
| for what they need and to ask the
aid of the added prayers OF st. N1cho-
las. And the fact that Gods ways
are often secret ways and the tact
that st. Nicholas way on the well
known occasion was a secret way,
these facts were not lost sight of Ill
the Cl1lQ way 0l LulHhlu6.
The feast of st. Nicholas falls on
December 9th which is SO near to De-
cember 25th, the birthday of the
Christ-child that the two easily came
| to be associated. The Christ-chiid IS
Himself Gods greatest gift to a needy
world. He came as a poor little child
| in the manger of rude stable SO
that poor children need not fear to
approach Him. And poor though He
appears there, He possesses all things
and can enrich all who come to Him.
And because the children knew this
| it seemed for moment that st. Nicho-
las would be forgotten. But no. for
the Christ-child is so small and help
less, powerful God though He is, He
needs someone to distribute His gifts.
Now the Blessed Mother cannot, for
| she must care for Him. And st. JOS
eph~ must care for both of them. Here
then is where st. Nicholas can make
himself very useful Let him be the
carrier of the Christ-child's gifts.
Nor is that all For. not long after
Christmas day comes the feast of the
three Kings who journeyed from afar
to find the Christ-chiid and to bring
! gifts to Him; not to ask gifts but to
bring them, So there is gift-giying as