Do You Believe in Santa Claus

I’ve always believed that Christmas should be centered around children. The idea of “believing in Santa” is what children long for. By believing in Santa Claus, it gives the child a sense of excitement and fun that only Christmas can bring. It's the age-old question; “do you believe in the magic of Christmas; do you believe there’s one time of the year when truly anything is possible; do you believe in Santa Claus?”

The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his loyalty and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6th. In the 16th century people started calling St. Nicholas by a different name, “Kris Kringle.” Later, Dutch settlers took the old stories of St. Nicholas with them and Kris Kringle became “Sinterklass” or as we now say, Santa Claus!

Ever since I can remember my brothers, sisters and I hung our stockings out the night of December 5th for St. Nick. However, back then we didn’t use the personalized Christmas stockings that we have today. There were six of us and we would each get one of our own socks, pin them to a wire clothes hanger with a safety pin and hang it in the living room. Looking back, doesn’t it seem like everything was so much simpler then? But one thing is still the same, the excitement that comes with believing St. Nick is going to fill that sock or stocking with something special. It’s a great family tradition to hang on to and children love it

Another favorite part of Christmas when I was growing up was going to “Breakfast with Santa”. My sisters and I could barely finish our donuts and juice because we were so excited to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him everything we wanted for Christmas. Today, my daughter is the same way; although she actually takes a list with her complete with every Barbie Doll ever made. My son who is older, however, tries to play the cool guy not quite sure sitting on Santa’s lap is the cool thing to do, but the little boy in him just can’t help but believe. He asked for camouflage clothing and gear so that he can go hunting with his dad and lots of GI Joes!

So this Christmas, just remember – no matter what their age, children want to believe in Santa Claus. There’s a special childlike innocence and faith that comes with truly believing in Santa Claus. Just like the infamous quote from Francis P. Church at The New York Sun, September 21, 1897; “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!”