St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition...

Would you deny Santa is real?

Q. I don’t suppose you would be daft enough to tell young children in church that Santa Claus doesn’t really exist?

A. Don’t you believe it! I nearly got myself into trouble over this in my first year at Eccleshill. I started a School Service on a Wednesday by saying: “Mrs Gibson asked me to tell a story about Christmas today - a true story, I mean; not a made up one about Santa Claus or something like that.” Mrs Gibson defended me by saying that I hadn’t actually said Santa didn’t exist. (She was very generous to me!)

This Christmas, it seems, a vicar in Maidenhead told the children at a school carol service (aged 3-11) that Santa would be dead if he tried to deliver so many presents so quickly. His reindeer would burst into flames if they went at such speed, killing him (reports The Times, 11 Dec.). The vicar later apologised and said he had misjudged the ages of the children.

Santa Claus was, of course, a real person - St Nicholas, pronounced St Nichlaus in his home town of Freiburg in Germany, where he was bishop. He noticed how the wealthy enjoyed Christmas but the poor didn’t, and he called on the rich people and pointed this out to them. The rich responded by giving him gifts to give to the poor. To avoid the impression of “charity” he disguised himself with a cloak and left parcels of clothes, food and money outside their homes. Years later he was found out, and since then his name has been used for the giver of a surprise Christmas gift.

However, the reindeer and sleigh are legendary, and songs about “when Santa got stuck up the chimney” are pure fiction. I’m a bit uneasy with the idea of vicars telling children about Santa, simply because when they discover it’s a made-up story, they’ll start to wonder whether a lot of other things the vicar says are also made up? The big difference between Jesus and many of the myths is that Jesus is real. It’s vital we don’t downgrade Jesus to the level of another Santa.

So I guess my answer is: I would try not to comment on whether Santa Claus is real, if there are very young children present. I wouldn’t say he was, but if pushed I would try very hard to avoid saying he wasn’t. I would try to speak about Jesus instead of about Santa.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. January 2003, Page 8.
Home Page. Index of articles. Questions: index, Wedding Blessings, Funerals, Sex & Archbp, Yoga, Deny Santa, Study Islam. In this issue: (January 2003) Vicar's Letter, Depression, Islam, Question.	In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition... Would you deny Santa is real? Q. I don’t suppose you would be daft enough to tell young children in church that Santa Claus doesn’t really exist? A. Don’t you believe it! I nearly got myself into trouble over this in my first year at Eccleshill. I started a School Service on a Wednesday by saying: “Mrs Gibson asked me to tell a story about Christmas today - a true story, I mean; not a made up one about Santa Claus or something like that.” Mrs Gibson defended me by saying that I hadn’t actually said Santa didn’t exist. (She was very generous to me!) This Christmas, it seems, a vicar in Maidenhead told the children at a school carol service (aged 3-11) that Santa would be dead if he tried to deliver so many presents so quickly. His reindeer would burst into flames if they went at such speed, killing him (reports The Times, 11 Dec.). The vicar later apologised and said he had misjudged the ages of the children. Santa Claus was, of course, a real person - St Nicholas, pronounced St Nichlaus in his home town of Freiburg in Germany, where he was bishop. He noticed how the wealthy enjoyed Christmas but the poor didn’t, and he called on the rich people and pointed this out to them. The rich responded by giving him gifts to give to the poor. To avoid the impression of “charity” he disguised himself with a cloak and left parcels of clothes, food and money outside their homes. Years later he was found out, and since then his name has been used for the giver of a surprise Christmas gift. However, the reindeer and sleigh are legendary, and songs about “when Santa got stuck up the chimney” are pure fiction. I’m a bit uneasy with the idea of vicars telling children about Santa, simply because when they discover it’s a made-up story, they’ll start to wonder whether a lot of other things the vicar says are also made up? The big difference between Jesus and many of the myths is that Jesus is real. It’s vital we don’t downgrade Jesus to the level of another Santa. So I guess my answer is: I would try not to comment on whether Santa Claus is real, if there are very young children present. I wouldn’t say he was, but if pushed I would try very hard to avoid saying he wasn’t. I would try to speak about Jesus instead of about Santa. John Hartley
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