As a child, I loved the idea of Santa Claus. My parents would take me to the local mall to get a picture with him. They would put gifts under the tree from him - even going so far as to change their hand writing style so I wouldn't catch on. My extended family always sang songs of Santa at our December reunion. Of course, those days are long gone, I grew up and figured out that Santa wasn't real. But as an adult I think I am an even bigger fan of Santa or the man he was based on... Saint Nicholas! Born into wealth, Saint Nicholas of Myra chose to give away his possessions to the needy. This is how Saint Nicholas became the patron saint of children - for the gifts he would give to them (you can thank Coca-Cola for further developing him in the pop culture Santa Claus we know today...). One story tells of a poor man who had three daughters. The man had no money to pay dowries for the girls so their marriage prospects were nonexistent. Left with no viable options and ability to support them, the man was going to sell his daughters into sexual slavery. But the night before, Saint Nicholas came to their house and threw 3 purses gold through their window. The next morning the family found gold that had landed in their stockings which were hung by the fire to dry.
Who knew that one of our favorite Christmas characters was made famous for fighting human trafficking?
So the next time you sing 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town', take your kids to get their picture with the jolly old chap, or even make Santa cookies; take a moment and teach your loved ones about The Real Saint Nicholas. Take it a step further and purchase some slavery free gifts this holiday season. I am sure Saint Nicholas doesn't mind being portrayed as a chubby North Pole resident, but I think he would definitely appreciate us acknowledging the amazing things he did.
We can't think of Santa without also thinking of slavery. Let's start some new traditions this year by renewing this old tradition of Saint Nicholas... Santa Clause... Jolly Old Saint Nick...Father Christmas... Abolitionist.
Picture obtained from flickr Creative Commons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/giveawayboy/4154538970/
