Santa Gives Thanks for Job Security
By Thomas Quinn
Wandering through a Christian bookstore last week, I discovered amid the stacks of Bibles and discounted Dr. Oz books this foot-high ceramic centerpiece. A truly weird clash of universes—the blissful religiosity of Jesus in a manger, and Santa Claus, the patron saint of the department store, kneeling reverently at his side. Clearly, Santa is thankful at the prospect of steady work for the next 2,000 years, though the idea of him sliding down ancient Roman chimneys or piloting his reindeer over the sleepy suburbs of Bethlehem is kind of a mind-warp.
Even more curious, Santa is already a sage old elf in full regalia, on Year One. Makes you wonder what he was doing every December before this. It also raises questions over what the Three Wise Men bearing gifts thought of him being there. Kinda stealing their thunder, isn’t he? Especially since Santa tends to bring cool gifts like Xbox and Minecraft instead of frankincense and myrrh—which are forms of dry tree sap used in perfumes. Not really at the top of most wish lists.
I’m sure somebody finds this little Santa/Jesus statuette charming. I find it vaguely creepy, like a painting of the Easter Bunny seated at The Last Supper. To be sure, Christmas is a time to demonstrate our lack of good taste in everything from garish snowflake broaches to tacky sweaters featuring sleighs and reindeer. But, wow, this really pushes the envelope. Although it’s not the worst case of Santa abuse that I’ve seen.
A friend of mine ventured to Japan over Christmas a few years back. Being 95% Shinto, the Japanese are not much into the holiday. But in major cities they still gussy up the shopping malls with festive trimmings to lure in the Western tourists. Sadly, someone got their legends mixed up. Among the decorations gracing one particular mall was a life-sized figure of Santa Claus…nailed to a cross. Imagine the expression on the faces of visiting six-year-olds.
Just for the record, the original Saint Nicholas was a 4th century bishop in the Greek Orthodox Church. His reputation as a traveling gift-giver made him popular throughout the Middle Ages. December 6th was deemed St. Nicholas Day, when the good children would be given presents while the naughty ones came up empty handed. Santa became training wheels for their relationship with God—an unseen, supernatural dispenser of rewards for those who obeyed the rules.
The Dutch called the legendary saint “Sinter Klaus” and, once they brought him to America, the name morphed into “Santa Claus.” In 1822, Clement Clark Moore, an Episcopal minister, embellished the Santa legend with his classic, A Visit from Saint Nicholas, better known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. Moore is the guy who named the eight reindeer and had Santa slipping into the house through the chimney. (You know, between Santa, the Easter Bunny, and visits from various angels, there’s a lot of breaking-and-entering in Christian lore.)
There was no consensus on what Santa looked like, but Moore made him a jolly, jelly-bellied elf. Years later, political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who became famous for drawing caricatures of Boss Tweed and other New York robber barons, decided to draw the generous Santa Claus in the same tubby profile as the city fat-cats. The image stuck. The red-and-white uniform was one of several Santa used to wear, until a Coca-Cola ad in the 1930s popularized the famous red-and-white outfit that bore the company colors. How a saint like Nicholas found the baby Jesus before there were any saints, I’m not sure. But then, Christmas is the time of miracles.
